Windsor-Essex residents urged not to put medical sharps in recycling bins

People across Windsor-Essex are being asked to not toss used medical sharps into their recycling bins.

The Health Products Stewardship Association (HPSA) and Circular Materials are launching a joint campaign to clear up what belongs in curbside recycling versus what goes back to a pharmacy.

Medical sharps are any devices or objects with points, blades, or edges capable of puncturing or cutting human skin, such as needles or injection pens. Because they can have blood, these items require strict handling and specific disposal methods in puncture-proof containers to prevent accidental injuries.

The concern centres around the ones that don’t come back to a pharmacy and turn up in blue boxes where they’re a hazard for the people sorting recycling by hand.

“For workers who sort recycling by hand, even a small number of used medical sharps create a direct risk of injury,” said HPSA Program Director Kristen Romilly. “We want to make sure we’re keeping our workers safe and redirecting those materials to the appropriate channels. In our case, to pharmacies for safe disposal.”

The HPSA operates free take-back programs for the safe disposal of unwanted medications and used medical sharps in Ontario, while Circular Materials is responsible for operating Ontario’s recycling program in a new single-stream recycling collection system.

Romilly says they want to make sure everyone knows there is a network of community pharmacies across the province that accept medical sharps for disposal.

“At the time of prescription, if you’re in need of a medical sharp, you can receive a sharps container free of charge, she added. ”Once that sharp container is full, you can return it to a participating pharmacy for safe disposal."

The association says southwestern Ontario residents returned about 52,428 kilograms of used sharps to pharmacies last year, roughly the weight of 35 cars.

The HPSA says the problem is only set to grow, with about three million Canadians now injecting GLP-1s, such as Ozempic, at home.

Romilly says there are over 4,000 pharmacies across Ontario, including 480 in southwestern Ontario that will accept used medical sharps for disposal.

“What we’re seeing with the increased use of some medications, for example, GLP-1, we want to make sure residents are aware of where those materials can go for safe disposal. They should not go into the blue box; they should not go into the garbage,” said Romilly.

The organization says that 94.6 per cent of Ontario pharmacies already take back unwanted medications and used medical sharps.