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Product Stewardship Institute Medical Sharps National Dialogue Meeting

Product Stewardship Institute Medical Sharps National Dialogue Meeting. Rob D ’ Arcy Hazardous Materials Program Manager County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health 408-918-1967 rob.darcy@deh.sccgov.org September 23, 2008. Santa Clara County Sharps Generation.

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Product Stewardship Institute Medical Sharps National Dialogue Meeting

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  1. Product Stewardship Institute Medical Sharps National Dialogue Meeting Rob D’Arcy Hazardous Materials Program Manager County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health 408-918-1967 rob.darcy@deh.sccgov.org September 23, 2008 Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  2. Santa Clara County Sharps Generation • Household Hazardous Waste Program is the default collection mechanism for all banned products • Join the list of banned waste products • Mercury-containing products • Fluorescent lamps • Thermostats • Thermometers • Batteries • E-waste • Now sharps • Treated wood Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  3. Santa Clara County Sharps Generation cont. • 70,664 adults with diabetes • 28% take insulin • 2 shots a day from 19,786 diabetics • 1.2 million sharps per month • 14 million sharps each year and rising Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  4. Santa Clara County Sharps Generation cont. • HHW Program and three Fire Stations collected 295,000 sharps in FY 2007 • 2% of sharps collected • Where did the other 98% go? • Disposal only = $1,220 • Labor $ ? Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  5. SB 1305 • Makes it easy for the private sector to be part of the solution • Consolidation points • Total disposal could be as little as $60,000 per year in Santa Clara County • How much do manufacturers make on 14 million sharps? Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  6. HHW Participation • Statewide HHW Participation is less than 5% • Santa Clara County Participation is 4.3% - $3,500,000 budget • 28,000 households • Should we serve 19,000 more sharps households? Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  7. Why HHW Doesn’t Make Sense • Inconvenient • Appointment system • Limited operating days and hours • HazWoper trained personnel • Building bigger government isn’t the answer! Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  8. Sharps Collection in Santa Clara County • 3 Permanent HHW Facilities • operating 54 days per year and 10 Temporary events around the County • 3 Transfer Stations • Operating 7 days per week • 12 Pharmacy Take-back • Operating 7 days per week • 6 Kaiser Permanente Hospitals • 3 Fire Stations • 7 County Hospitals • 3 Private Hospitals • 2 Dialysis Centers Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  9. County Budgets • $150 million budget deficit in Santa Clara County • County Hospital system is cutting services due to a decreasing budget • All taxpayers are footing the bill for proper sharps disposal. • Where are the manufacturers? Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  10. Retail Recycling Partner Data Example 72% of fluorescent lamps managed by the HHW Program are received by the partners Fluorescent lamp collection is a fraction of generation Orchard Supply Hardware, Ace Hardware are community environmental partners. Reward participating retailers with your purchasing dollars! Why don’t the big box stores participate? Walgreens? Wal-Mart? Costco? Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  11. Obvious Partners • Industry • Manufacturers profit from the sale • Build take-back into their business plans • Retailers • Profit from the sale • Internet sales should be required to provide mail-back Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  12. Shared Responsibility • Government – Education • Retailers – Take-back • Manufacturers – Funding • Patient – Return the sharps Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  13. California Product Stewardship Council • Mission: To shift California’s product waste management system from one focused on government funded and ratepayer financed waste diversion to one that relies on producer responsibility in order to reduce public costs and drive improvements in product design that promote environmental sustainability. • http://www.caproductstewardship.org/ Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

  14. California Product Stewardship Council • Support Framework Legislation to: • Advance sustainability • Pollution prevention • Zero waste • Litter reduction • Plastic pollution • Hazardous product end of life management • Reduce packaging waste • Marine pollution • Reverse climate change Santa Clara County, Department of Environmental Health

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