Local, municipal, State, Provincial and Federal regulations are constantly changing. The reality is that, to protect ground water from medication contamination, medications probably never should have been disposed in sharps bins. Sharps bins are routinely autoclaved prior to being crushed and then finally disposed of in a normal landfill. This process does not render drugs unusable! Drug Destructor bags can be disposed of in your facility’s existing incineration waste stream which will result in pyrolysis and destruction of medications keeping them out of ground water.
Healthcare accreditation bodies are observing medication waste streams closely and site visits have resulted in significant fines for non-compliance.
