MA Firefighters Offering Safe Needle Disposal

Aug. 17 -- PLYMOUTH, MA -- The opioid crisis has brought the problem to the forefront, but the disposal of used needles and other sharps has been a recognized problem in the medical community for years.

Every week, the people of Plymouth use an estimated 5,700 needles of one kind or another. Some are used by drug addicts and pose a health threat to anyone who comes in contact with them. Even more are the byproduct of treating or maintaining medical conditions like cancer or diabetes.

After a recent storm, dozens of used needles that had collected in a downtown drainage system floated to the surface on a street near the waterfront. Earlier this year, a little boy was pricked by a needle when he stuck his hand in the cushions of a couch at a local motel.

Over the course of the year, an estimated 312,000 needles are used locally, and there has been no municipal program for their disposal, until now.

With the assistance of the local health department and funding from town meeting, the Plymouth Fire Department recently purchased a system that collects, sterilizes and shreds needles and other sharp biomedical waste.

The Sterilis Medical Waste Processing System is located at fire headquarters on Sandwich Street, where the department also maintains a storage bin and a supply of sharps containers for the public to use free of charge.

Fire Chief Ed Bradley recently demonstrated the effectiveness of the system, sterilizing and shredding a collection of syringes and other medical waste that had been dropped off at the station.

The system uses steam sterilization to kill all contaminants in each batch of waste and uses a two-stage shredder to grind the waste into unrecognizable bits that can be disposed of in the solid waste stream. The process takes about 30 minutes.

Bradley and Health Director Dr. Nate Horwitz-Willis opted on the system after seeing it in action in Sandwich. Like Plymouth, use of the system started slowly there but has grown rapidly over the course of a year and is now handling much of that town's residential medical waste.

Bradley said residents have been slowly recognizing the red disposal container that is available 24/7 at the front door to the fire station. Residents can leave sharps in cans or plastic jugs, and are encouraged to take one of the red plastic disposal containers for future deposits. Fresh containers are available after every deposit just inside the front door and at the health department at town hall.

The system is designed to work in concert with the prescription medication waste bin located at police headquarters. "If the police can take the meds, we can take the sharps, so there's no need for any of this to be out there any more," Bradley said.

The Sterilis system is located in the back of the fire station and is connected by wireless to the state health department, which monitors the operation. The same connection ensures the system is properly tested and working properly.

Horwitz-Willis said the town's investment in the system comes in response to numerous calls from residents looking for a safe place to dispose of sharp medical waste.

The town has budgeted to have a second Sterilis system at the new fire station in North Plymouth after it is built next year. Once a system is in place in North Plymouth, the town may move the existing system from fire headquarters to a location in Manomet or Cedarville.

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