Just like many others I got laid off not too long ago. Another casualty of the recession I suppose but I’ve been involved in the electronic recycling business for quite some time.
I’m just curious how many people living with diabetes would recycle their meter, supplies & other waste if they had the option?
The electronic recycling laws in most states, provinces & some countries don’t seem to cover medical electronics which bugs me since I know that these devices are just as toxic as the cell phones, TVs and monitors, and computers that are littering our landfills.
What would inspire you to recycle? A deposit-refund? Convenient collection? Reuse for those in need?
Sorry you were laid off. Sounds like you might have a great new career idea!
I’d be thrilled to recycle any of the things you listed. Feel awful about the waste generated by all these supplies. All I’d need is someplace to send them. There isn’t even curbside recycling where I live. We have to haul to a recycling center.
If only I can get some pharma company to help out…
I’ve got an address where you can send old glucometers and I’m working on getting the appropriate equipment and licenses to clean things like sharps (its called an autoclave) for recycling.
Ultimately I hope to work with some company like Bayer, Roche, Johnson & Johnson or another manufacturer to set up a take-back program so that shipping won’t cost the consumer out of pocket since we already pay enough for supplies. So far none of the pharma companies have been very receptive though.
Maybe you should contact some of the big diabetes organizations like Joslin and the ADA. They may express an interest in a partnership. Other places to check would be places like dLife and The Behavioral Diabetes Institute.
I would recycle my D supplies if it was convenient. I wouldn’t even mind paying to ship stuff there but I know many consumers would be turned off by this. I hate throwing away all the plastic for my infusion sets, it is soooo wasteful (I use insets) but there is nothing else I can do with them in my state.
I hope you find a company who’s cooperative. Great idea & something that’s sorely needed! Would be wonderful to send things back to the manufacturer prepaid the way we can with printer toner cartridges. Awful throwing everything in the trash.
If you need anything to feed your autoclave, be happy to send you raw materials:)
Thank you very much Suzanne - actually I sent an email yesterday to dLife & will be hitting up CVS/pharmacy tomorrow. I like the idea of talking to those other orgs too, especially if there would be a way to economically refurbish glucometers to be suitable for reuse by people with low incomes.
I use a medtronic pump and it amazes me how much junk I produce when putting on 1 infusion set also. I realize this stuff can’t be reused but still…
I definitely would! Where I live in Philly, we have curbside collection for most things (glass, cardboard, aluminum, paper, plastics 1&2) which is so nice and helpful! But I do take batteries and lightbulbs to Ikea for recycling because our city doesn’t take those. (So maybe a drugstore could be part of the recycling effort?) Also, I always have a hard time finding places to take electronics.
I grew up in MI and their bottle deposit law I thought was very clever. You would never see bottles left anywhere, because they are seen as money. So, maybe a deposit-refund could work as well?
I think the biggest thing for me is convenience. I will go out of my way too, but I think it has to be made easy as possible for everyone to do it with no excuses.
Thanks for your input - I agree that deposit-refund laws make the most sense. I read one stat that said that when California introduced a deposit-refund plan for plastic bottles & cans the recycling rate went from around 20% to over 90%.
I think that pharmacies should definitely be involved as colleciton points since we all need to go there often. It’s tough getting something going here where I live though because so many pharmacies are controlled at a head office & won’t do anything without authorization from top management.
Question, guys. I’m living in Guatemala now (where nobody recycles anything…sigh) and am moving back to California in three weeks. Could somebody please tell me what the laws are for sharps desposal? Am I required to use a sharps container and then deposit that in the garbage? Do you get those at the drugstore? How much do they cost?
Hi Zoe - I just took a look at the California Integrated Waste Management Board website & they have requirements for home generators. The law requires that sharps are not to be disposed of in the household trash & are considered hazardous. They have to be taken to an approved facility in a sharps container.
Thanks for the link, Patrick! And here I thought my life as a diabetic was going to be 100% easier back in the States. But yes, it makes sense that they would require that. Thanks again
Zoe
