Just to clarify-I was assuming that the Sharps are autoclaved in 
Sharps containers and I was under the impression that this is not a 
problem in the regular trash.....and sewerage authority or not, I 
don't think we should be disposing of drugs any longer into the water 
waste streams.

Regards, Jane

At 8:35 AM -0400 8/26/09, Hadden, Susan [PRDUS] wrote:
>Pat, Here is what our environmental engineer had to say about your questions.
>
>He can NEVER dispose the needles or any of these things in regular 
>trash.  If he can separate our some of the debris, (i.e. gloves, lab 
>coats) he may be able to go with someone like SDS (Specialty 
>Disposal Services) and do a waste characterization on the material 
>to determine if it is, indeed, medical waste. Going w/ SDS on some 
>of the streams may save him a little money. He will have to use 
>Stericycle or equivalent for needles and other true med wastes.  The 
>10% bleach w/ product is fine, provided that the sewerage authority 
>is ok with this stuff going to drain. 
>
>It's very expensive, but it is the only way of handling these 
>materials.  It may be beneficial to find a different licensed med 
>waste hauler as a lot of folks complain about Stericycle's pricing.
>
>I hope this helps.
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**list.uvm.edu] On 
>Behalf Of Patricia Peifer
>Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:22 PM
>To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
>Subject: [DCHAS-L] BBP Waste Issues
>
>I currently work at a company which occasionally gets involved in testing
>on drug products which are derived from human blood.  We give all our lab
>employees Bloodborne Pathogen training and offer the the Hep B vaccination
>and essentially try to follow all the requirements of the BBP Standard.
>These drug products have been tested and are certified to be pathogen-free,
>but of course, there is always to remote possibility that they may not be,
>so our employees are to use the Universal Precautions when working with
>these blood-derived drugs.
>
>I have been using Stericycle to get rid of our waste which consists of
>sharps and contaminated gowns, gloves, kim wipes, etc.   I could not find
>anyone who would take leftover drug product for disposal, but a reliable
>source told me to add 10% bleach to it, let stand for 30 minutes, then
>dispose of down the drain.
>
>Here's what I'm wondering...   We are definately a small-scale generator of
>this type of waste ( the sharps and contaminated gowns, gloves, kim wipes,
>etc.)  The Stericycle service is expensive and inconvenient.  Is anyone
>else autoclaving this type of waste (apparently the red bags and red sharps
>containers are autoclavable) then placing the autoclaved waste into a
>regular trash bag and disposing in the regular trash, or for sharps,
>labeling for disposal as non-hazardous sharps after autoclaving?
>
>Thanks for any advice anyone can offer.
>
>Pat Peifer
>Project Manager, Safety & Training
>West Pharmaceutical Services
>101 Gordon Drive
>Lionville, PA  19341
>Phone:(610) 594-3278
>Fax: (610) 594-3005

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