DIABETES FOUNDATION PARTNERS WITH MDEQ TO PREVENT NEEDLE INJURIES

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality recently partnered with the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi to launch a new statewide home sharps disposal program geared toward preventing the improper and unsafe disposal of needles.

Each year, nearly 90,000 Mississippians give themselves injections for various ailments, including diabetes. These sharps typically are disposed by throwing them in the trash or flushing them down the toilet; however, this poses a major risk to garbage collection employees, sewage treatment plant workers, janitors and even the general public in some instances.

“It remains vitally important for us to not only educate the public about the necessity of safe and proper needle disposal, but also to offer other options for their disposal,” said Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi Executive Vice President Mary Fortune. “There are over 345,00 Mississippians who have diabetes, and most of these individuals either take insulin injections or give themselves finger sticks to monitor their blood glucose. This represents a significant portion of our state’s population that is in direct contact with these sharps devices and, ultimately, is also responsible for their removal.”

“The Diabetes Foundation is pleased to be a part of this much-needed initiative for Mississippi with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The scope of the project in providing a safe and effective way to dispose of needles and lancets for people with diabetes and others who require daily medication via injection will protect many sanitation workers and the general public," Fortune said.

There have been numerous reports of needle-stick injuries to the state’s waste management employees. To prevent sharps-related injuries and any subsequent stress and anxiety, the new Household Medical Sharps Disposal Program offers alternative methods for needle disposal, including mail-back option, local drop-off collections and sharps destruction devices.

“With the launch of this program, home users are provided with a no-cost alternative for safely disposing of their sharps, waste collection and disposal businesses employees are assured of a safer work environment, pharmacies are providing greater service to their customers, and the public is provided with a safer environment,” said MDEQ Executive Director Trudy Fisher.

Mail-back programs are available through several companies from which sharps containers are ordered. When the container is full, a person often can mail it back to the company for disposal. To locate a mail-back program, search for “medical sharps mail-back” on the Internet, or visit www.deq.state.ms.us/medsharps.

In addition to mail-back programs, there are several local drop-off collection programs, too. These collection sites include many pharmacies and fire stations. For a complete list of these collection locations, visit www.deq.ms.us/medsharps, or call a local health department or solid waste department to find out about the availability of the program.

There are also sharps destruction devices, which clip or burn the needle off and allow the user to then dispose of the rest of the syringe in the trash. These devices may be purchased at a local pharmacy or online for less than $10 and generally can hold at least 1,000 needles. When the clip is full, it may be taken to a local sharps collection station; otherwise, the clip can be sealed with heavy-duty tape and then thrown away in the garbage. Becton, Dickinson and Company has donated 3,000 of their clips for use in Mississippi.

In the event that one of these sharps disposal options is not viable, there are several safe ways to dispose of sharps:

• Never flush sharps down the toilet or throw them in the garbage.
• Store used sharps in a sharps container purchased at a local pharmacy or in another sturdy plastic container, such as an empty washing powder, bleach, fabric softener or kitty litter box.
• Rinse the container before using, and label the container “sharps” and “do not recycle.”
• Seal the container with heavy-duty tape before disposing in the garbage or carrying to a local sharps collection station.

“We are excited to be part of this unique program and appreciate the leadership of the State Senator Tommy Moffatt and the Mississippi Legislature who passed the Home-Generated Medical Sharps Disposal Act in 2008,” Fisher said. “It’s rewarding to find solutions to problems and even more rewarding to work with the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi, pharmacists, fire chiefs and private businesses who saw a need and worked together for fellow Mississippians.”

The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi (DFM) is the state’s only nonprofit health organization that provides diabetes research, information, patient services and advocacy, and its mission is to provide hope through programs, services and research to the 346,500 Mississippians with diabetes. Every dollar raised by the DFM stays in the state to support these efforts. In addition, 89 cents of every dollar raised goes toward the organization’s charitable purposes. The DFM is the one diabetes organization totally dedicated to all Mississippians– from children to seniors– who live with diabetes.

For more information about the Household Medical Sharps Safety Program, please visit www.deq.state.ms.us/medsharps, or call the Diabetes Foundation at 1-877-DFM-CURE.