Safety

California to restrict home needle disposal

OSHA Healthcare Connection, August 1, 2006

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A new law will prohibit California residents from disposing of used needles and sharps in household trash. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed The Medical Waste Management Act on July 12. The law requires the transportation of home-generated sharps only in approved sharps containers and disposal only at state-approved locations beginning September 1, 2008.

The Coalition for Safe Community Needle Disposal, which supported the legislation, estimates that eight to nine million people inject medicine at home nationwide and generate three billion used needles and sharps a year.

In addition to the coalition, the Environmental Protection Agency offers solutions to home-needle disposal on its disposal of medical sharps Web page.



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