FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Robbie Wilbur
September 9, 2009 601/961-5277
MDEQ AND DIABETES FOUNDATION OF MISSISSIPPI ANNOUNCE HOUSEHOLD MEDICAL SHARPS INITIATIVE
(JACKSON, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi Wednesday announced a new initiative to more safely dispose of medical sharps or needles. The Household Medical Sharps Disposal Program includes the establishment of more than 90 voluntary community sharps collection stations, located primarily at retail pharmacies and at municipal fire stations, that will accept sharps collected by home users in puncture-proof, sealed containers. The sharps collected at these stations will then be picked up by waste disposal companies at no charge to the collection stations.
In the State of Mississippi, there are an estimated 90,000 individuals that give themselves more than 30 million injections each year as self-treatment for numerous health problems, the most prominent of which is diabetes. The most common means for disposing of these syringes is to throw them into the household trash or to flush them down the toilet. This creates a hazard for needle stick injuries to occur among garbage collection workers, wastewater treatment employees, janitorial workers, and the general public.
“We are excited to be part of this unique program and appreciate the leadership of the State Senator Tommy Moffatt and the Mississippi Legislature who passed the Home-Generated Medical Sharps Disposal Act in 2008. It’s rewarding to find solutions to problems and even more rewarding to work with the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi, pharmacists, fire chiefs, and private businesses who saw a need and worked together for fellow Mississippians.
“With the launch of this program, home users are provided with a no-cost alternative for safely disposing of their sharps, waste collection and disposal businesses employees are assured of a safer work environment, pharmacies are providing greater service to their customers, and the public is provided with a safer environment. In addition, the many fire departments that have volunteered have nothing to gain from the program, but they are providing a great public service,” said MDEQ Executive Director Trudy Fisher.
“The Diabetes Foundation is pleased to be a part of this much needed initiative for Mississippi with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
The scope of the project in providing a safe and effective way to dispose of needles and lancets for people with diabetes and others who require daily medication via injection will protect many sanitation workers and the general public," stated Mary Fortune, Executive Vice President of the Diabetes Foundation.
One of the key components of this new program is the establishment of more than 90 voluntary community sharps collection stations throughout the state. These stations, located primarily at retail pharmacies and at municipal fire stations, will accept sharps collected by home users when brought to the stations in puncture-proof, sealed containers. The sharps will then be picked up by waste disposal companies at no charge to the collection stations. Most of these sharps will be gathered and disposed of by several companies currently collecting and disposing of medical wastes in the state – Enserve South Central, Inc. based in Canton, CleanEarth, Inc., of Hattiesburg, DisposeALL, Inc., of Brookhaven, as well as other medical waste service providers in the state.
MDEQ is also promoting another option for managing sharps in the home through the use of a simple device known as a needle clip which clips the metal needle from the syringe. The potentially injurious needle is encapsulated in the clip and the remaining part of the disposable syringe may then be safely disposed in the household trash or taken to a community collection station. Becton, Dickinson and Company has donated 3,000 of their clips for use in Mississippi.
Participating in the initiative are the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi, the Mississippi Fire Chiefs Association, the Mississippi Association for Home Care, the Mississippi Pharmacists Association, the Mississippi Independent Pharmacist Association, CleanEarth, Inc., DisposeALL, Inc., EnServe South Central, Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, and the Mississippi State Department of Health.
More information is available at: http://www.deq.state.ms.us/medsharps.
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