Safe Needle Disposal Practices May Be Different, Depending On Where You Are
Ed Hawthorne, California-based member of the National Diabetes Volunteer Leadership Council and former National Chairman of the Board of the American Diabetes Association
(San Francisco, CA, Monday, August 6, 2018) – If you’re a Californian who suffers from a chronic illness that requires the use of sharps, lancets, needles or auto injectors outside of a medical facility, you may not know how to get rid of used sharps safely.
Safe needle disposal practices may be different, depending on where you are. NeedyMeds, a national non-profit organization is making it easier for people who use sharps to understand the rules that promote safe disposal in California. SafeNeedleDisposal.org is the roadmap patients need to do the right thing, wherever they happen to be.
Ed Hawthorne, a California-based member of the National Diabetes Volunteer Leadership Council and former National Chairman of the Board of the American Diabetes Association, explains.
SOUNDBITE #1:
THE website WILL HELP CALIFORNIANS LEARN ABOUT SAFE NEEDLE DISPOSAL OPTIONS NEAREST TO THEIR HOME, WORK, OR WHEREVER THEY HAPPEN TO BE. THIS CONSUMER RESOURCE IS MUCH NEEDED FOR THOSE WHO USE NEEDLES TO MANAGE THEIR MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND WANT TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
SOUNDBITE #2:
ACCORDING TO THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, SHARPS THAT ARE NOT DISPOSED OF PROPERLY MAY CAUSE INJURY. NEEDLE DISPOSAL REGULATIONS IN CALIFORNIA ARE DIFFERENT THAN MOST OTHER STATES SO IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO FIND OUT WHAT TO DO AND WHERE TO GO. The website IS A RESOURCE FOR EASY TO UNDERSTAND, CALIFORNIA-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE. REMEMBER, SAFETY IS THE POINT.
For more information, visit SafeNeedleDisposal.org.