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Frequently Asked Questions
Is mailing medical waste
really legal?
Yes. In 1994 (and updated in 2003), the US
Postal Service created a stringent standard to allow medical
waste to be mailed directly to an approved treatment facility
for proper disposal and documentation as long as a permitted
company using tested and approved containers and packaging
is used. The Sharps Disposal By Mail Systems® adhere to
this strict standard and can be mailed from your home or business,
or taken to any US Post Office.
What is the definition of medical waste?
States
generally define medical waste much the same as the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA.) If you are a self-injector,
all you need to be concerned with is proper disposal of sharps.
If you are a business that generates medical waste, you must
not only properly contain your needles, syringes, lancets,
scalpels and other sharps contaminated with blood or other
potentially infectious material (OPIM); you should also properly
contain any contaminated material that when squeezed would
drip blood or OPIM.
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Who should have the Sharps Disposal by Mail
SystemŽ containers?
Employers:
Sharps
waste is regulated by individual states as well as the federal
government. Any employer who generates medical waste should
utilize regulatory compliant sharps disposal and destruction
methods. Contact information for state and federal agencies
that regulate medical waste can be found at www.sharpsinc.com/
Home
self Injectors:
Individuals
who self-inject must properly dispose of their medical sharps
such as syringes and lancets to protect family and community
members from risk of injury and infection. These sharps should
never be placed into the trash, even if they are first placed
into a container first. This applies to disposal in the home,
at a restaurant, on an airplane, in a hotel, or at work. EPA
Guidelines on proper destruction by self-injectors can be
found at www.epa.gov/epaoswer/other/medical/med-home.pdf.
In addition, some states are now making it illegal to dispose
of sharps into the trash. Read about it at: www.sharpsinc.com/News Articles/Waste News 073106.pdf
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What goes in a Sharps medical
waste container?
It varies state by state, but generally they
describe needles, syringes, lancets, scalpels and other sharp
objects contaminated with blood or bodily fluids; gauze pads
or other absorbent material that when squeezed would drip
bodily fluids; used spill cleanup kits and employee protective
apparel used in the cleanup.
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If my state requires
a contract or tracking documentation, can I use your system?
Yes. If you are a business that generates
medical waste, and your state requires documentation of the
transport or disposal of your medical waste, the tracking
document included with the Sharps Disposal by Mail System®
will qualify. Maintain the generator copy for the number of
years mandated by your state. If proof of destruction is required
by your state, Sharps® online tracking and documentation
program, SharpsTracer® will help with this requirement.
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How does the mailback system
work?
The system is very simple and confidential.
Here is an overview of how it works:
- Receive the product in 3-5 days after placing your order.
- Remove the Sharps Disposal by Mail System® from the
brown shipping box.
- Remove the red mailback sharps container from the white
mailback box.
- KEEP THE WHITE MAILBACK BOX. This is your postage-prepaid
return box.
- Read the System instructions provided with your box.
- Place your sharps into the red mailback sharps container
until 3/4 filled. (If you are a business, follow all state
storage regulations that may apply.)
- Close the lid on the red mailback sharps container securely
and package into the white postage-prepaid return box according
to the instructions.
- Complete the manifest tracking form, keep the generator
copy, and return the remaining copies to the plastic pouch.
- Place your return address on the top of the box.
- Give the System to your postal carrier, take it to the
nearest post office, or call for or request online a priority
mail pick-up (the box is pre-paid.)
- Remember to reorder a new mailback before closing, sealing,
and mailing the System.
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