Sharps Compliance launches single-use medical device recycling system

Sharps Compliance Corp., a Houston-based nationwide provider of health care waste solutions, has launched its TakeAway Recycle System, designed for the safe collection, return transportation and recycling of single-use medical devices (SUDs).

Health care facilities have traditionally reprocessed SUDs and are looking for alternatives to this practice. Sharps says the health care industry reached out to the company to design a system in light of the many concerns surrounding safety and other issues associated with the use of reprocessed SUDs. Reprocessing SUDs has been shown to potentially increase the risk of patient infections and malfunctioning devices, Sharps says.

 

Other disadvantages of reprocessed SUDs, according to Sharps, include:
 

With nearly all SUDs composed of materials that can be recycled, the TakeAway Recycle System ensures that all of the collected materials are processed down to their basic commodities, according to Sharps. SUDs that were previously destined for reprocessing, the landfill or the medical waste bin now can be shipped via a common carrier to Sharps’ permitted facility for recycling, the company says.

Sharps says the TakeAway Recycle System is compliant with the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and Joint Commission and includes collection containers that can be used in either the operating room or the sterile processing department.

When the system arrives at the Sharps facility, devices are decontaminated following applicable safety standards and routed to the proper recycler. Plastics are treated with Sharps’ patent pending Waste Conversion Process, and the end product is designed to be used to generate electricity. Batteries and electronics are recovered and processed by certified recyclers. Hardware and other metals are recovered and processed by recycling facilities for reuse as raw material, the company says. Customers receive a certificate of recycling confirming the proper recycling of the SUDs.

David P. Tusa, president and CEO of Sharps Compliance, says, “As with all of our solutions, the TakeAway Recycle System is designed to solve a problem for the customer or improve operational efficiencies in a cost-effective manner. The health care industry reached out to us to design a system in light of the many concerns surrounding potential safety and other issues associated with the use of reprocessed SUDs, including the potential risk of patient infection and the possible malfunction of reused SUDs.”

He continues, “We believe our TakeAway Recycle System provides a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to SUD reprocessing while eliminating the risk of infection to the patient and associated potential liability to the health care facility. Our target market includes surgery centers, outpatient surgery facilities and hospitals, providing an excellent cross-selling opportunity for our route-based medical waste management services and other solution offerings.”