[OKRA] Oklahoma Launches Sharps Take - Back

Mon Dec 19 09:53:21 PST 2022

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This is great news for all Oklahomans.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - DECEMBER 19, 2022
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Contact: Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Marketing and Communications Director,
Product Stewardship Institute, rachel at productstewardship.us or 617-236-4866

OKLAHOMA LAUNCHES SHARPS TAKE-BACK

“Don’t Get Stuck” educates consumers

on responsible medical sharps disposal

Oklahoma City, OK — Medical sharps, such as needles and syringes, are
convenient devices used by millions to safely self-inject medications
outside of health-care settings, often to treat conditions like diabetes.
More than 100,000 residents in Oklahoma are prescribed self-injecting
medications, generating as many as 60 million needles per year.

When needles are flushed or trashed, they pose grave health and safety
risks to residents, sanitation workers, sewage treatment plant operators,
waste management personnel, and hospitality workers. A 2018 survey showed
that 53% of materials recovery facilities observed needles in household
waste at least weekly; over half reported one or more needle-stick injury
in 2016.

That’s why The Choctaw Nation, Indian Health Services, and Covanta
Environmental Solutions partnered with the Product Stewardship Institute, a
policy advocate and consulting nonprofit that pioneered product stewardship
in the United States, to expand sharps take-back infrastructure in
Oklahoma. Through the program, participating health clinics in eight areas
provide sharps users with easy-to-use containers that allow them to drop
off or mail in their used sharps, protecting people and the environment.

“The implementation of a sharps mail-back program in Oklahoma is a big step
forward in helping remove this material from households,” said Brad Wright,
Vice President and General Manager of Healthcare Solutions at Covanta.
“This grant will ensure that the public will have access to disposal
containers which will then be managed and processed in the most sustainable
manner possible.”

This collection program is informed by PSI’s how-to guide: Establishing
Community Medical Sharps Programs: A Guide for Municipalities, Pharmacies,
Health Clinics, and Nonprofits in Oklahoma. The guide, created with grant
funding from DEQ, provides step-by-step support for municipalities
establishing medical sharps collection programs for residents and will be
expanded with lessons learned from the pilot collection programs. Research
for the guide highlighted the lack of infrastructure for medical sharps
collection and led to this pilot program.

"In addition to the public health and environmental risks, medical sharps
that are thrown in the trash can pose a safety hazard to sanitation
workers,” said Patrick Riley, environmental programs manager for solid
waste and sustainability at the Oklahoma Department of Environmental
Quality (DEQ). “We know that safe collection sites are needed, and this
program will demonstrate exactly how they can be operated.”

BACKGROUND

In 2021, the Oklahoma State Legislature legalized privately funded programs
to capture used sharps. Some hospitals and medical clinics now accept
sharps from their patients, as do a limited number of businesses, following
OSHA regulations. In addition, some cities have developed occasional,
annual, or ongoing sharps take-back events. And, according to Oklahoma
state law, residents are permitted to place medical sharps in the trash if
they are sealed in a rigid plastic container. But many don’t follow this
practice: There is still a need for safe, affordable disposal options
provided by safe and convenient sharps collection programs.

Oklahoma's new program is part of a nationwide push for healthcare Extended
Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs and legislation. In April, Illinois
became the eighth U.S. state – with Maine, Oregon, Massachusetts,
Washington State, New York, Vermont, and California – to enact an EPR law
that requires drug manufacturers to pay for and run a statewide take-back
program
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.

PSI has been working for 15 years on pharmaceuticals take-back laws and
policies, including developing model drug take-back legislation and leading
the national effort to enact the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act
in 2010, which made it possible for pharmacies to accept unused drugs.

Product Stewardship Institute (PSI)

PSI is a policy advocate and consulting nonprofit that pioneered product
stewardship in the United States. Since 2000, PSI has helped enact 130
extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws across 16 product categories in
33 states — the bedrock of the circular economy. We work with governments,
academia, nonprofits, and business to ensure that products are responsibly
managed from design to end of life. Join us at www.productstewardship.us.

Oklahoma Meds and Sharps Disposal Committee (OMSDC)

The OMSDC is a coalition of professionals working on a statewide solution
for the safe disposal of medical sharps and leftover pharmaceuticals for
Oklahoma residents. Funded by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental
Quality with facilitation and technical support from the Product
Stewardship Institute, the committee meets periodically to share
information and to develop solutions. https://tinyurl.com/okmeds
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The Product Stewardship Institute
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producer responsibility (EPR) policies, programs, and laws. Thank you!
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