Six Common Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal Programming Mistakes

There’s plenty to think about when it comes to the correct disposal procedure for DEA waste, from the ever-changing regulations to the strict and mandatory processes. Due to the sheer complex nature of the process, it is easy to overlook some areas.

What Is A Pharmaceutical Waste Manifestation?

One of the most important aspects to ensuring safe handling of pharmaceuticals is the proper disposal of pharmaceutical waste bins. The risks that come with the improper disposal of medical medications and other chemicals are well-documented and include:

• Leaching into the environment which contaminates groundwater, drinking water and the plant life.
• Health issues that affect the entire community.
• Risk of abuse from drugs is increased.

It is required for all waste producers who transport or offer to transport hazardous waste (including pharmaceuticals) for treatment off-site and disposal, to keep in their records the certificate of pharmaceutical waste destruction, as well as a manifest.

This hazardous waste manifest includes RCRA-approved waste that is transported from your site to its designated hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities. The manifest must be completed during the process of the removal. The manifest specifies:

• Your facility is a waste-generating health site.
• What’s being gathered (how many) and in what kind size container).
• The location for hazardous treatment of waste, storage and disposal or recycling.

As the producer in the production of waste from pharmaceuticals, it is your fully accountable for the exactness and completeness of the details you enter on the manifest, and it is completed by you as well as the driver.

When audit time comes around, failing in addressing these conformity concerns could lead to massive penalties. Here are six typical mistakes in your pharmaceutical waste disposal program that you should avoid in order to avoid non-compliance.

1. The Absence Of Key Stakeholders From The Process Of Pre-Rollout

Organise sessions with the key stakeholder groups such as Environmental health and safety (EHS) as well as pharmacy, nursing as well as EVS departments. These initial meetings should establish the program’s major focus areas of the program, like waste classification segregation, training and disposal processes.

2. The Sloppy Approach To Informational Phase

It is important to get the proper formulary to identify the waste, and to include any hidden waste streams that aren’t list in the formulary. Also, check whether there are any federally-approved exemptions (e.g. Epinephrine, residues or phentermine-base salts).

Visit departments (radiology and wound care, material management) to identify what supplies are need for departmental activities. A precise formulary and waste classification will reveal:

What medications are classify as dangerous DEA control substances as per federal regulations? Which drugs are incompatible and require to be distinguish from other medicines what dimensions and kinds of containers are need? kind of labels/signage is apply to the containers

3. Not Engaging The Proper Team Members In The Operation Phase

Begin by meeting with the departments involve to determine the date for go-live and to determine satellite accumulation zones (SAAs) and identify waste collection and education techniques, whether it is conduct by an external vendor or an internal team.

4. Insufficiently Training Staff

For proper training, ensure that you provide ongoing and regular training for pharmacists, EHS, nursing, and laboratory personnel and new employees. Training should be tailor to the department in accordance with the responsibilities of each department as well as their involvement in the handling of hazardous waste.

Employees should be well-inform and current on the types of pharmaceutical waste your company produces, how it is store and how it is move and then dispose. They must also know which containers to be use for pharmaceutical waste to dispose of different types of waste or medicines.

5. Not Including Off-Site Locations

Contact a primary Contact at off-site location to identify what type of pharmaceutical or hazardous waste they generate and how it’s control. The streamlined approach throughout all locations allows for uniform training, labelling and signage, and disposal methods.

6. Insufficient Monitoring Of Post-Rollout Activities

Do an annual review of your waste disposal program for pharmaceuticals to assess how it’s functioning. Also, conduct regular SAA inspections.

Things To Consider To Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal

Pharmaceutical waste is classify as hazardous, non-hazardous and medical waste. To determine in the category that a pharmaceutical waste is classify, its chemical, physical and toxicological features are analyse and classify.

For instance when a pharmaceutical firm produces highly reactive waste is consider a hazardous waste that requires special handling. To be sure that it is in compliance with federal rules, producers must know which classification their dangerous waste is place.

Hazardous Pharmaceutical Wastes

Pharmaceutical waste includes any leftover inactive, unusable, or expired drugs that are no longer require or are no longer utilise or sold. Pharmaceutical waste is describe as either hazardous or not according to its potential hazards and the risk it poses to humans and the environment.

Commonly, hazardous properties include corrosivity, ignitability, reactions and the presence of specific heavy metals. Some pharmaceuticals in commercial use that aren’t use are also consider hazardous wastes base upon their listing on the U and P lists.

This includes substances that are no longer require as they are either expire or not on-spec or spill-residues. The hazardous pharmaceutical waste management that is list include nicotine, epinephrine and nitroglycerin and many others. 

The waste should comprise one of the substances listed on the P or U list. The chemical present in the waste has to be in use. The chemical present in the waste has to exist in an industrial chemical product

Non-Hazardous Pharmaceutical Wastes

Household wastes and pharmaceutical wastes as well as specific quantity generators also know as very Small Quantity Generators (VSQGs) are deem to be non-hazardous.

What Are The Ways Pharmaceutical Companies Can Achieve Compliance

Companies that generate more than 100 kg every month in RCRA hazardous pharmaceutical waste that is regulate are require to handle the waste as hazardous. Generators are accountable for determining if their pharmaceutical wastes qualify as RCRA dangerous wastes.

Since the various hazardous waste regulations are difficult to keep up to date It is advisable to talk to hazardous waste experts who will assess your current disposal and waste operations.

Environmental Concerns

If there aren’t proper regulations and controls Medical waste can be into soils and water sources which can affect humans or animals, as well as plants.

In addition, sharps that have been contaminate may cause unnecessary dangers in your facility for both patients and staff, while medications like antibiotics could be take up by water sources, which can harm wildlife that live there, in addition to the drinking water.

The Final Rule Of The EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a new rule in the year 2019 that regulates the disposal of pharmaceuticals that are hazardous to the environment for hospitals.

The law, refer to by its acronym Subpart P, is intend to give direction on how hospitals handle hazardous waste pharmaceuticals, while safeguarding public health and the environment.

Why You Require A Pharmaceutical Waste Certificate

Each facility that produces medical waste must meet the legal obligations it must satisfy in the process of preparing for disposal. One of those requirements is the requirement to provide written proof that the waste was properly and legally dispose of.

In the event that your establishment is audit but this information isn’t provide the facility could be subject to substantial fines or even worse. Many of the medical waste companies that we speak to don’t know that not all waste management companies have the authorization to handle dangerous pharmaceutical waste.

It’s recommend that you do as safe as possible, since any responsibility for improper disposal is on you, the waste producer and not the waste management company you’ve hire eliminate it.

A complete regulated cradle-to-grave waste management program that incorporates the destruction certificates for pharmaceutical waste disposal companies and manifests that ensure your facility meets RCRA laws.