California is officially the first in the United States to start an all-inclusive, convenient and safe disposal option for needles and pharmaceutical drugs. This movement was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown as "SB 212"—officially founding a complete statewide produce-funded take-back system for medications and sharps.
Heidi Sanborn, former executive director and senior advisor of the California Product Stewardship Council says, “It took passing 10 county and 3 city ordinances to successfully negotiate a compromise with the medical industry to make this happen. This is a public health and safety bill whose time has come, and we are sincerely grateful to the legislature and Governor Brown for making Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) the law.”
SB 212 confronts the numerous problems that occur due to the absence of a statewide system to manage pharmaceutical products at the end of their usage. Thanks to SB 212, producers of sharps, over the counter medications, and prescriptions will be required to fund, create, and manage a statewide take-back system. Here and now, CA residents have access to safe, convenient disposal methods of sharps and drugs—an overly absent concept until now.
According to CalRecycle, just over 930 million needles or sharps are used by consumers in California each year. Additionally, 30% of these 930 million needles are thrown right into the trash! That’s over 280 million needles making their way into our garbage every year. Likewise, over-the-counter medications and prescriptions have issues of their own when not properly discarded. Leftover drugs that have not been properly disposed of are aiding the fueling of the opioid epidemic, increasing instances of accidental poisonings, and causing significant environmental harm.
Altogether, the SB 212 mandate is offering a solution to a longstanding problem in California. Thankfully, we now have options regarding disposal of sharps/needles, prescription medication, and over-the-counter drugs.
If you have questions regarding disposal of any of these materials, or if you have questions regarding any other form of material removal or recycling, give us a call today! (844) 88TAKE2 or (844) 888-2532.