I try to be environmentally conscious. However, recycling my cereal box this morning might be compared to siphoning the oceans through a drinking straw...when compared to the medical waste I discard each day.
I would love to hear others discuss their carbon footprints.
Bothers me what I toss out. I’ve considered reusing syringes to cut down waste, but I can’t bring myself to use a needle more than once. I gave a friend who makes jewelry empty test strip containers to use for storing supplies, but there’s only so many she needs. Barely a drop in the bucket.
Danny, great blog. I missed it when it was posted. I remember that PSA.
Love reading your blogs. Why’d you remove it?
I try to recycle what I can, old strip bottles, the boxes, instructions and packaging for my pump supplies. I don’t recycle the used stuff, but I wish I could. It does bother me what I toss every week, but I recycle whatever I can.
tubing to tie up plants?..interesting and creative!
i suppose that i would be afraid of the residual insulin tainting the plants or soil.
but i like the way you think!
or how about storing fishing tackle? remember old film containers for our cameras…i think test strip containers are much the same.
thanks for the blog…i have a vague memory of that commercial.
in response to the littering and that you take note of such things…i too notice! like testing strips at the gas station…i think: “i once used those” then there is the notion that we are living in the time of dna…our dna is everywhere! i’m sure its all over my apartment and car and workplace.
OH, OH, YES. Every time I change a pump insert, I discard: empty cartridge, and plastic tubing, a foil wrapper for the IV prep, a really environmentally destructive package for the new kit. I also worry about the hygiene of discarding these into the general trash, as there are "fluids".... Don't even get me started on CGM.
All the packaging is unbelievably unhealthy for the environment. Also, the blood on the thousands of test strips I have discarded.
But, I do take unused meds (pills, etc) to the pharmacy and pay to have them safely destroyed.
It baffles me--where is the care from the D industries?
I have checked the pump supply packages and there is no recycle code on them. I use strip bottles to safely discard the needles from my sensor inserts, as they just sit there as the ten penny nails they are.
All paper is always recycled.
I don't think about it. I'm too busy staying alive.
I want my test strips to work reliably. I want my insulin -- I'm on MDI -- to be in shelf stable containers.
I agree. I admit that, while I do recycle bottles and groceries, I never think about my test strips, pin needles, and etc. I want to be alive to throw out my trash.
If there was an easy way to recycle all of that stuff I would though.
I'd certainly buy any pump that offered some sort of recyclable option. I think that issue is pretty much ignored by manufacturers of medical supplies. This jar has most of my infusion set inserter needles and CGM inserter needles since we moved (July 2009...)
This, of course, doesn't count strips, little pieces of paper, etc. The giant piece of miniscule typed paper that comes with every insulin bottle always amazes me...
I find your attitude very commendable. However, shouldn't we be putting pressure on companies like BP and TEPCO that try to cover up their environmental disasters that will end up killing millions of people, and by the way, there is a direct correlation between an increase in diabetes to increases in pollution that these companies are responsible for.
I'm not saying, "throw your stuff away with abandon," but keep it in perspective.
I would like to thank everyone for their opinions. I'm surprised that Tudiabetes chose this discussion considering that it was originally started 3 years ago and much of the original discussion is actually missing...???(perhaps people have retracted their staments or erased their accounts?)
After these past years my thoughts on this issue are:
We should never feel guilty for the extra garbage we contribute due to our disease. However, as someone who does care about envoronmental issues I was alarmed about the extraordinary amount I now contrbute through medical waste and packaging.
I'm impressed with those that repurpose their supplies through art and other creative ways. great job! these are the things I love to hear about!
acidrock>>>you are so funny!!! and if you ever get the answer to that mystery please let me know.
That giant piece of miniscule writing is MANDATED by our, wonderfully looking out for us, FDA. I would venture to guess <5% of people who require medication can understand those, much less CARE. I myself actually find them interesting. You should see how many of those are flying around doctor's offices. Every piece of literature they hand out has to have some version of that thing with it. The paper wasted is staggering.
One of my favorite things about the OmniPod pump is the recycling program. For $8, I receive a FedEx pack and label with which to return (for recycling) up to 50 “pods.”
cool!
interesting!
Hey jeffri. I wanted to re-kindle this conversation in honor of Earth Day, which is today! Thanks so much for starting it, 3 years ago :)
I didn't know that! Really fantastic!