The Problem

"At-Home" Needle Use

In one year, approximately 9 million syringe users will administer at least 3 billion injections outside traditional health care facilities. Nearly two-thirds of these "at-home" injectors are poeple with diabetes and patients administering home health treatment for allergies, infertility, arthritis, migraines, HIV, and Hepatitis C and other ailments. Many self-injectors are unaware of safe disposal methods available to them and simply throw their used needles in the trash or flush them down the toilet, posing a risk of injury or potential infection from diseases such as Hepatitis B or C and HIV to anyone who encounters them.

Needle Disposal

The majority of these “community needles” are discarded into the public solid waste system, posing a risk of injury and infection to anyone who encounters them.

Despite the growing problems associated with improper disposal of sharps outside health care facilities, there are no consistent regulations or guidelines for their safe disposal.

Current EPA guidelines, suggest disposing all sharps (needles, lancets, syringes) in a household plastic container or coffee can, secure the lid and write do not recycle on the outside and simply deposit in household trash. Unfortunately, this does not take the needle out of the waste stream – it simply ends up in the general household trash putting neighbors, children and waste workers at risk of needle stick injuries.

Due to the efforts of the Coalition the EPA and the Coalition are working together to offer new needle disposal guidelines. The options will be available in a new EPA safe needle disposal brochure, which is expected to be complete in the Fall 2004. In the meantime, the EPA has added new disposal options to its current guidelines available on the following website http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/other/medical/disposal.htm