Hello! I’m moving and while packing I realized I had a bunch of pods left from 2016. At the time omnipod changed their adhesive and they reacted with my skin badly so omnipod was great and sent me a bunch of new ones. With that being said, I need to dispose of them and since they’re over 5 years old, I don’t think that they would be beneficial to anyone. Does anyone know if you can just toss unopened ones or what the actual disposal protocol would be to get rid of them?
Toss. The American’s with Disabilities Act prohibits anyone (local gov’t or otherwise) from impeding your just tossing them in regular domestic rubbish.
Truly not to be facetious but I had no idea the ADA had any input on trash disposal. I see your point and don’t mean to sound like a jerk (which I fear I am) - I’m just saying that there are concerns about disposing of equipment - particularly sharps (even unused), so there are guidelines for keeping waste management personnel safe when collecting. Pods may be “a different sort of animal” especially if they’re still in the package, but it might be worthwhile to check with local waste disposal about how to dispose of unopened equipment.
Dorie, you have raised the question from the other side of the coin. Where this all started was with some sanitation & environmental regulations about domestic / residential garbage in areas with mandatory recycling. The areas where this started were the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, & Northern California) and the broader New England states.
The concept of recycling started and then the issue of residential (domestic in regulations) medical waste came into the situation. Diabetics and others with health conditions were initially charged ‘Medical Waste’ fees to haul away their ‘sharps & other blood tinged’ trash. Individuals with self or family performed complex dressing changes were included. Tracheotomy patients with body fluid contaminated garbage were thrown in the pot.
Bottom line, here were hundreds if not thousands of homes with what OSHA called “blood or other potentially infectious material” (B-OPIM)to be disposed of in refuse. Some places mandated the prescriber or dispenser (doctor or pharmacy) was responsible for the generated waste. The patient (generator) would take their B-OPIM back to the doctor, pharmacy, hospital, fire station. Others were paying hundreds of dollars for regulated ‘medical waste’ service.
This came to a head when an ADA case officer had family land in the boat. The situation detonated in the early 1990s. The outcome in the locality where the ADA case officer investigated and was subsequently published thru the ADA & OSHA networks was:
Diabetic and similar waste shall be permitted in domestic refuse and exempt from any additional fees not charged to other residential generators of similar garbage. In areas with mandatory recycling, B-OPIM refuse shall be in garbage slated for land fills or incineration and not recycled to avoid any human contact. The use of OSHA approved RED CANS/JUGS shall cease.
Hope this helps… Yes, use your liquid laundry containers, milk jugs, etc. Fold the lids, Don’t Mark because of drug seeking paraphernalia dumpster divers.
@Tee25 did you get what you need?
@987jaj something did indeed happen in the 90’s but I was unaware-thanks for filling in some soft spots.
I don’t have any non-finger safe sharps due to the way Dexcom and Medtronic work so everything I generate goes straight into regular trash. The best thing for needles is a thick plastic container but I also have mandatory recycling and laundry detergent bottles (by me) aren’t allowed in the regular trash. Small problem, but I do feel for trash collectors when there are biohazards. Also at my work, this would be considered biohazard waste would cost a fortune to dispose of. But that’s work.
My county runs a generic all pharmaceutical event where anything drugs,equipment,sharps can be collected. Possibly another route if I’m in a jam. Cheers!
Thank you. When I took injections I put syringes in a drink bottle of I was at work - bending the needle back and capping it again first. Our company had a nurse on site and one day she called me and get other diabetic patients because someone had been tossing open needles in the trash (not guilty thank goodness).
At home I used a needle clipper - forget where those needles went but I called the syringes and put them in a sharps container. At one point a local firehouse collected the containers - I don’t know what they did from there but they were happy when I told them I had put caps over what remained of the needle. Come to think of it they were extra happy when I told them they could keep the container - apparently they were used to going through the actual contents. The last time I tried I discovered the firehouse no longer did that; neither would local pharmacies or my doctor’s office, so I paid for disposal. Maybe around $50. I’m collecting the needles from my fill syringes - thankfully the containers hold a lot!
Thank you for your comments and helping me with understanding.
Awesome thank you all! Yeah they’re all contained and not open so I’ll toss. Thank you!
Each of you adds a little misery to your the situation from the aspect of “extra effort”. The letters of regulatory interpretation are structured so aside from sharp protection & dripping body fluids, the resident have no effort beyond the usual dispatch of their garbage.
Taking a container to a “Sharps Day” collection at a mall or fair grounds is extra effort and should not be required. Even being nice and taking sharps my give the idea, oh, everyone can do this, contrary to the spirit of the regulatory protection.
Hope this clarifies & removes some of the mud.
GRIN
Personally I considered it more of an annoyance than a misery but eventually “mission accomplished.”
1 Like
i used to, but dont have anymore. but when i had the dexcom g6 i had a LOT of shipments and a LOT of sites left.I didnt know what to do with them for a long time or where to send them so i eventually ended up just throwing them away. yeah…