Sharps Disposal | Arthritis Information

I'm going NUTS! I can't find out what I'm supposed to do with my used Enbrel autoinjectors.

I've called the pharmacy, the local hospital, and the RD. What do you guys do with them? I live in Indiana if that makes a difference.

I've never been able to get anyone to take mine either. You'd think you could just take the container to the RD's office when you go in and they'd taken them....nope.

It takes a while to fill a container; but my husband tapes them up real good and throws it out with the rest of the trash. I won't say who advised this.....but it was one of my trusted medical professionals. Doesn't sound like great advice to me....but what else can you do?

I was told that I could get a empty clorox bottle and dispose of them in there, when it get full tape the bottle up and dispose of it. or I could take them back to my rhumy's office .

Hi,

I just use an empty bleach bottle, tape it up when it's full and throw in the trash. My trash company told me what to do. If you want, the pharmacies sell sharps containers that you can fill and ship to the address on the container. Hope this helps, Hiking_gal

My pharmacy delivers sharps containers and alcohol swabs when ever I need them, no charge. My RD let's me bring in my containers when they're full.

I feel like I'm just gettin the "run around."

Enliven Services said call the pharmacy. The pharmacy said to call the local hospital. The local hospital said to call the RD. The RD's nurse said to call the County.

I found on-line where it says I can throw them in the trash as long as they are sealed in a safe container, but the rep from the hospital told me not to do that. I don't think any of them know what to do!OMG! This is sooooo timely KweenB - I just got back from the dump.

I agree, I've also been told to just take the needles off and dump them in with the trash. That can't be good. So, I started calling various city departments. They all told me that if they sell them (CVS etc) they have to take them back. Wrong! (There oughta be a law!). So, eventually, I found the guy in charge and found out all most every city has a 'haz mat' department. Ours calls it 'Household Hazardous Waste' and they're only open in the AM's 4 days a week.

Today was the day I tried to take his diabetic syringes down. They had to get a boss type to OK it...but they took it and it's gonna be 'processed' right!

Pip

Yeah, my old city is surrounded by less and less corn fields LOL. But they had a program 2 X a year for household hazardous materials.

I'd just start calling the government agencies for waste disposal. I could have taken my FIL stuff to a neighboring dump as they had a reciprocity program. Maybe I'm silly but that '50 years' thing scares me.

Pip

Gee, I guess I'm lucky. The pharmacy I buy my needles, syringes and mtx from, take my filled sharps container. It's Longs, and its a business thats been around for awhile, and a fav store of mine.

I wouldn't feel right about putting these containers into regular garbage disposal. What if a worker got poked somehow.

I was told to put them in a coffee can with a lid, seal it with tape and put it in the regular trash. As long as the sharps are safely contained and can't stick anyone, there shouldn't be a problem with disposing of them that way. Check with your County Health Dept...that is where I can take mine tooI used to have a diabetic cat and here the pharmacy has a service where they take back the needles, but you have to pay a year. (I wonder if they just tape them up, write "medical waste" on the container, and throw them in the garbage? That's what my diabetic friend does.)(whispering) Can't you just save them up until you go to a doctor, then dump them in their sharps container after the nurse leaves and before the dr. comes in..... Suzanne2008-04-24 15:20:58[QUOTE=Suzanne](whispering) Can't you just save them up until you go to a doctor, then dump them in their sharps container after the nurse leaves and before the dr. comes in..... [/QUOTE]