New LA County Initiative for Sharps Disposal

Household sharps for injecting medications can cause injury or spread infection when disposed of improperly. A new LA County program — the “Contain and Responsibly Dispose (CARD) Your Sharps” Initiative — has launched to help ensure proper containment and disposal of sharps.

The “CARD Your Sharps” initiative provides patients with a new sharps containment device, at no cost, and directs them to the nearest sharps take-back location. According to the EPA, each year nearly 9 million people with chronic conditions — such as allergies, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and others — administer 3 billion injections outside of health care facilities in places like their homes and workplaces. In California, used sharps are classified as home-generated sharps waste and must be disposed of separately from household trash and recycling containers through one of the many available community based options.

The CARD Your Sharps Initiative targets critical interactions between patients and retail pharmacists at the point of sale to educate new and returning patients on the initiative. The program builds on patient-centric tools currently available through SafeNeedleDisposal.orge, where patients can search for the most convenient local disposal options using their zip code. Through Card Your Sharps, a program launched by leading global medical technology company BD, patients who fill a prescription for any sharps, regardless of their supplier, can visit one of the more than 300 participating retail pharmacies throughout LA County starting February 8th to receive an information sheet from their pharmacist that provides step-by-step instructions for responsible sharps disposal. Patients will also be directed to a new website, CARDYourSharps.com, where they can request to have a no-cost, FDA-cleared sharps container sent to their home.

“As American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) president, increasing access to educational resources that empower people to self-manage their condition is the foundation of our self-management education and support strategy,” said Deborah Greenwood, PhD, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, FAADE, 2015 President, American Association of Diabetes Educators. “People with chronic conditions, like diabetes, have so much to worry about without having to deal with the burden of making sure the therapies they’re taking to manage their treatment are disposed of correctly. Tailored education and access to free resources, like those provided through BD’s new CARD Your Sharps Initiative, will play a significant role in increasing the convenience for people who use sharps – allowing them to spend their valuable time focusing on their health, and less time worrying about their disposal options.”

Nabil Shabshab, worldwide president of Diabetes Care and Digital Health for BD said, “At BD, our purpose of advancing the world of health translates into bringing best in class innovations to our patients and augmenting them with services to empower them while lowering the burden of managing their disease. The CARD Your Sharps Initiative is yet another example of our commitment to provide critical resources for people living with diabetes and other chronic diseases. We’re thrilled to offer a comprehensive program that provides practical solutions for patients including the ability to receive a no-cost, FDA-cleared sharps container for LA County residents in need, regardless of their sharps provider. The robust infrastructure of LA County made it the ideal region to start this initiative, and ultimately we hope to expand this effort through further collaboration with industry leaders.”