NERC in the News
R.I. Environmental Journal: Syringes Pose a Danger to Recycling Center Employees
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Providence Journal, May 30, 2010
By Peter Lord, Journal Environment Writer
The numbers of used syringes that people are improperly discarding with their plastic recyclables has increased so dramatically lately that the conveyors at the state’s recycling center in Johnston had to be shut down every half hour recently so the syringes could be removed without harming employees.
“We shut down the conveyers 18 times to clear off sharps, which must be a record,” said Sarah Kite, director of recycling services at the state’s Resource Recovery Corporation, said of one recent day. “Sharps are considered hazardous waste because they can cause infections and spread disease. Everyone using needles must learn the correct way to dispose of their used sharps and stop this alarming trend.”
Last week, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved a bill that directs the Resource Recovery Corporation to prepare a statewide plan for collecting residentially generated medications. It is expected to go before the full Senate this week.
“The purposes of this program are to protect the public from the health hazards of flushing or disposing of unused medications in household trash, protect the public drinking water supply and aquatic ecosystems from the harmful chemicals in unused medications; and limit drug-related crimes and opportunities for drug abuse,” reads the bill.
The bill does not address the used needle problem, but Kite said she expects to spend the summer trying to devise a plan that addresses both the medications and the needles. Because both issues are problems throughout the country, Kite said she hopes for federal help as well.
Recently elected vice president of the Northeast Recycling Council, representing 10 Northeastern states, Kite said she hears about similar problems throughout the region.
Ironically, the needle problem in Rhode Island is partly caused by Resource Recovery. The agency used to contribute $25,000 annually to the Diabetes Foundation of Rhode Island, which distributed containers at pharmacies to collect used needles.
Budget problems caused the agency to discontinue the grants. At about the same time the Diabetes Foundation folded. Then more needles began arriving in plastic containers at the state recycling center.
“It was a good program,” Kite said. “But we just couldn’t support it anymore.”
Resource Recovery and the state Health Department urge people to put used needles in plastic containers, but to then throw the containers in the garbage, not into recycling bins.
Kite said people should use thick, plastic containers such as those containing bleach or laundry detergent. When full, people should tape the caps on them and throw them in the garbage.
“We only want empty containers at the recycling facility,” Kite said. “Empty containers are safe and easily managed.”
Kite believes more syringes are being discarded because more people are developing diabetes and other diseases that require regular injections. AnnMarie Beardsworth, spokeswoman for the Health Department, said diabetes is increasing, but the increase is largely type 2, which doesn’t require injections.
The problem, she said, is the lack of a safe place to dispose of needles.
Kite says she hopes to work with the departments of Health and Environmental Management, and to approach local drug stores for additional help.
Workers at the state recycling plant have their hands in the flow of plastics all day long, and in the past, she said, some have been stuck by needles.
Disposing of the needles in the landfill isn’t a perfect solution either, she said. That can put garbage haulers at risk.
“We all need to find a solution,” Kite said.
