Medical Sharps

Medical sharps, such as needles and syringes, are convenient devices used by millions to safely self-inject medications outside of health-care settings, often to treat conditions like diabetes. More than 100,000 residents in Oklahoma are prescribed self-injecting medications, generating as many as 60 million needles per year.   

When needles are flushed or trashed, they pose grave health and safety risks to residents, sanitation workers, sewage treatment plant operators, waste management personnel, and hospitality workers. A 2018 survey showed that 53% of materials recovery facilities observed needles in household waste at least weekly; over half reported one or more needle-stick injury in 2016. 

That’s why The Choctaw Nation, Indian Health Services, and Covanta Environmental Solutions partnered with the Product Stewardship Institute to expand sharps take-back infrastructure in Oklahoma. Through the program, participating health clinics in eight areas provide sharps users with containers that allow them to drop off or mail in their used sharps, protecting people and the environment.  

In 2021, the Oklahoma State Legislature legalized privately funded programs to capture used sharps. Some hospitals and medical clinics now accept sharps from their patients, as do a limited number of businesses, following OSHA regulations. In addition, some cities have developed occasional, annual, or ongoing sharps take-back events. And, according to Oklahoma state law, residents are permitted to place medical sharps in the trash if they are sealed in a rigid plastic container. But many don’t follow this practice: There is still a need for safe, affordable disposal options provided by safe and convenient sharps collection programs.  

Oklahoma’s new program is part of a nationwide push for healthcare Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs and legislation. In April, Illinois became the eighth U.S. state – with Maine, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington State, New York, Vermont, and California – to enact an EPR law that requires drug manufacturers to pay for and run a statewide take-back program.   

PSI has been working for 15 years on pharmaceuticals take-back laws and policies, including developing model drug take-back legislation and leading the national effort to enact the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act in 2010, which made it possible for pharmacies to accept unused drugs. 

Click this map to see sharps take-back locations in Oklahoma.