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Content Verified on: March 9, 2003
Regulatory Environment
Identified Community-based Disposal Initiatives
Disposing of contaminated medical waste, including needles, syringes, and other “sharps,” has become an important issue in public health policy. Waste generated in the health care system is highly regulated at the state and federal level. Hospitals and other health care facilities must follow special procedures for handling, transporting, and disposing of medical waste, including used needles that may contain blood. Facilities also have instituted strict safeguards to protect health care workers, housekeeping staff, sanitation workers, and waste haulers from needlesticks because of the risk of contracting HIV, hepatitis B and C, and other bloodborne infections. Less attention has been paid to safe disposal of used syringes that come from individuals living in the community. However, as many as 3 billion syringes are used each year outside health care facilities: It is estimated that between 0.9 and 1.68 billion insulin injections and up to 1 billion illegal drug injections occur each year in the United States. After being used and discarded, most of these syringes end up in the public solid waste system. This presents a risk of needlestick injury and infection, mostly to solid waste workers. A much smaller number are discarded in public areas, such as parks, presenting a risk to the public. This section of CDC’s Community Syringe Disposal, Laws and Regulations, and the Public Health web site looks at the public health dimensions of this problem. It describes this state’s solid and infectious waste laws and regulations as they relate to syringe disposal. It provides background information on several key disposal options currently used in the U.S. and describes the impact of this state’s laws and regulations on the way that individuals may use these options. It also includes brief descriptions of some safe disposal programs in the state and provides contact information for the state’s public health and environmental management agencies. This web site is designed primarily for individuals and communities who are working to build safe syringe disposal programs and improve public understanding of this important issue. We hope that the information and tools provided here will help communities move closer to the ultimate goal of “no syringes discarded in the trash or in public locations such as parks, buildings, or the streets.”
New Mexico’s Environment Department, Solid
Waste Bureau, has developed a document called Solid Waste Bureau
Guidance on Disposal of Medical Sharps Generated in Private Homes. This document
recommends using the sharps disposal guidelines created by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) in its brochure entitled Disposal
Tips for Home Health Care. Disposal Tips for Home Health Care The guidance includes these recommendations:
To get a copy of Solid Waste Bureau Guidance on Disposal of Medical Sharps Generated in Private Homes, contact: New Mexico Environment Department
1. Solid Waste Statutes Summary Law 2. Solid Waste Management Rules Summary Establishes segregation requirements – The rules require infectious waste to be segregated from other wastes at the point of origin. Establishes packaging requirements for sharps – Sharps must be contained in specially designed rigid, leak-proof, puncture resistant sharps containers that are securely lidded or taped closed before storage, transport, treatment, or disposal. Establishes labeling requirements – Infectious waste containers must be labeled to indicate that they contain infectious waste or placed in bags that meet federal requirements. Establishes storage requirements – Infectious waste must also be securely stored in an approved special waste storage area. Requires the creation of a management plan – All persons who generate, store, transport, treat, or dispose of infectious waste are required to create a management plan that “identifies the type of waste the person generates or handles, the segregation, packaging, labeling, collection, storage, and transportation procedures to be implemented, the treatment or disposal methods that will be used, the transporter and disposal facility that will be used, and the person responsible for the management of the infectious waste.” Establishes treatment requirements – Methods of infectious waste treatment include incineration, steam sterilization or any other method approved by the New Mexico Environment Department. Establishes disposal requirements – The rules restrict the disposal of special wastes to solid waste facilities that are authorized to accept special wastes for disposal. Law Responsible Agency
Summary Sets requirements for collection sites when employees handle the sharps containers – Operators of sharps container collection sites in which employees physically accept and handle filled sharps containers from customers are required to meet the OSHA bloodborne pathogen standards. This involves developing a written Exposure Control Plan that identifies the frequency of exposure and the tasks and procedures in which exposure may occur. The Plan also must address methods of compliance, hepatitis B vaccination, hazard communication to employees, recordkeeping, and methods to evaluate exposure incidents. Sets requirements for collection sites when employees do not handle the sharps containers – Operators of sharps container collection sites in which customers place filled sharps containers into a collection container are not subject to the bloodborne pathogen standard. In this situation, employees must not handle the sharps containers. Those involved with removing the sharps containers from the collection container must meet the standard. Law Responsible Agency
Effect of New Mexico’s Laws and Regulations
on Container Collection Sites Collection site operators may also be subject to meeting bloodborne pathogen standards, depending on how the sharps containers are collected and handled.
Effect of New Mexico’s Laws and Regulations
on Container Mailback Programs
Effect of New Mexico’s Laws and Regulations
on Disposal in the Trash
The state legislature and individual communities may wish to actively encourage individuals to safely dispose of used syringes and make it easier for them to do so. Many options for state and local action exist. They range from gathering data, to developing community collection site programs and education efforts, to creating partnerships with interested groups, to considering amending laws and regulations. All will help New Mexico move toward the goal of “no syringes discarded in the trash or public locations.”
The State of New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) has been the lead in establishing a safe needle disposal option for the State. The DOH has purchased drop-off boxes to dispose of needles and is currently in the process of trying to provide at least one unit to every county in New Mexico. Most of the drop-off boxes will be located at the local county health office, and where this is not possible, they will seek partners within the community. The waste management company Stericycle has partnered with the DOH Harm Reduction Program and handles the waste generated by these units at not cost to the State. For information about the location of these needle collection sites, please contact the New Mexico HIV/AIDS/Hepatitis Hot Line at 1-800-545-2437 or 505-476-3634.
Links below will open in a new browser window. New Mexico Environment Department Enforcement: robert_genoway@nmenv.state.nm.us Consultation: ray_singer@nmenv.state.nm.us
Links below will open in a new browser window. 1. New Mexico Statutes Annotated, Chapter 74 [Environmental Improvement], Article 8 [Solid Waste Incineration], Article 9 [Solid Waste Act], Article 10 [Solid Waste Authority] 2. New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC), Title 20 [Environmental Protection], Chapter 9 [Solid Waste], Part 1 [Solid Waste Management] 3. OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standards – 29 CFR Part 1910.1030. 4. USPS Domestic Mail Manual [Click on “DMM Subject Index” then scroll to and click on “Sharps, CO23.85”] 5. Turnberg WL, Frost F. Survey of occupational exposure of waste industry workers to infectious waste in Washington State. American Journal of Public Health 1990;80(10):1262-1264. Disclaimer The materials provided on this web site are for general information purposes only. They do not constitute legal or policy advice or opinion. Access to these materials, their transmission, or receipt is not privileged and does not create any relationship with the provider. CDC has attempted to make the information in this website accurate. However, CDC makes no guarantees about the accuracy, currency, or completeness of the information provided. We are not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for results obtained from the use of the information. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a professional should be sought. This CDC Web site is no longer being reviewed or updated and thus is no longer kept current. This site remains to assist researchers or others needing historical content. |
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Privacy Policy | Accessibility
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New Mexico's Public Health Laws and Regulations:
Impact on the Safe Disposal of Used Syringes by Individuals in the
Community
