Waste Management of the Inland Empire

As North America’s largest recycler, we processed 5.8 million tons of commodities in 2005, saving more than 41 million trees and enough energy to power about 848,000 households.

By recycling 1.7 million tons of cardboard, we recycles more than 6.8 billion boxes each year

New Law Will Ban Sharps Disposal

A new law signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on July 12, 2006 will prohibit the placement of home-generated needles and other sharps in solid waste and recycling containers. California will become one of the first states in the nation to ban sharps waste from the residential waste stream.

Although the effective date of the ban is September 1, 2008, the Legislature and Governor directed the Integrated Waste Management Board and Department of Health Services to work with local governments and private sector stakeholders to implement convenient mail-back programs and to promote their use prior to 2008.

It is critical that safe and convenient collection systems be established to help the millions of Californians that have diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and other medical conditions that require injectable medicines.

BACKGROUND

Improperly disposed syringes, hypodermic needles and other "sharps" are a serious hazard to our families and community.

U.S. residents use hypodermic needles to inject themselves more than 3 billion times each year. One out of every 12 households includes someone who uses hypodermic needles and syringes. Most used needles end up in the solid waste system, where they pose a grave health risk to anyone encountering them through the course of their work, spills or other accidents. Used needles can transmit numerous blood-borne pathogens, including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, as well as hepatitis B and C.

National statistics indicate that home needle use will continue to increase in coming years as diabetes and other chronic diseases that require self-administration of injectable medicines become more prevalent, as baby boomers age, as health care relies more heavily on out-patient procedures and as more people enter home health care.

A CONVENIENT, SAFE DISPOSAL ALTERNATIVE

While drop boxes, exchange programs and destruction devices offer benefits to certain municipalities or subsets of the self-injecting population, the mailback system is the most universally convenient, confidential option available to communities.

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