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Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal

Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal

Responsibly managing your regulated waste and ensuring compliance with applicable regulations is critical to protecting your business, employees, and environment. No one has more experience than Stericycle. Whether you’re a small business or a Fortune 500 company, we’re experts in creating solutions that fit your specific needs.

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Increase Safety and Ensure Compliance with the Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal Leader

Trusted Experts
Managing over 85 million pounds of pharmaceutical waste annually for thousands of healthcare facilities nationwide ensuring compliance with applicable regulations.

Protecting the Community and Environment 
Preventing pharmaceutical waste and controlled substances from entering the environment, waterways, and communities. 

Customized Solutions
Offering full-service, self-service, kiosk, and mail back options to safely dispose of pharmaceutical waste.

 

 

See Which Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal Solution is Right For You

  Hazardous Drug Disposal Services CsRx® Controlled Substance Waste Disposal Service Drug Takeback Kiosks Full-Service Pharmaceutical Waste Program

Service Description

A Stericycle driver picks up and safely disposes of hazardous pharmaceutical waste. Includes tools to ensure compliance with EPA, DOT and state and local requirements, such as a waste compliance checklist and staff training and education via MyStericycle.com.

Stericycle prevents diversion when disposing of controlled substance wastage via full- or self-service option for both large and small facilities.

Stericycle's collection kiosks are a safe, compliant, and convenient way for patients to dispose of unused medications. Unused medication is deposited into the kiosk and then destroyed. Available as a full- or self-service option for both large and small facilities.

Stericycle manages the end-to-end process of pharmaceutical waste disposal. Includes waste identification and characterization; container management for waste segregation and collection; staff training and support materials; transportation and disposal; and ongoing aftercare support.

Ideal For

Small hospitals and non-acute care facilities

Any small generator of pharmaceutical waste

Large Hospitals & Healthcare Networks

Small hospitals and surgical facilities 

Retail pharmacies

Hospitals and medical clinics with on-site pharmacies

Law enforcement agencies (requires DEA license)

Large Hospitals & Healthcare Networks

Benefits

Increased Safety:
Reduced risk associated with handling hazardous pharmaceuticals

Service Reliability:
Flexible on-call pickup for a flat monthly fee for easy budgeting

Increased Safety:
Containers have a one-way disposal path on for tablet, capsule, liquid and patches, and solution includes staff training on how to properly handle waste

Secure Storage:
Acts immediately to deactivate controlled substance wastage and securely contain for on-site storage

Trackable:
Reporting and analytics provide program success visibility

Convenient:
Simple for the public to access and use

Compliant:
Meets DEA, EPA, DOT and ADA recommendations and regulatory requirements

More Time for Staff to Focus on Patient Care:
Proactive container exchange by Stericycle Service Specialist  reduces staff responsibility for container management and ordering

Manage Compliance: Maintain compliance with EPA, DOT, and state waste disposal regulations for both RCRA and non-RCRA pharmaceutical waste

Why Stericycle?

Your Single Nationwide Partner

Your Risk Reduction Experts

Your Sustainability Champion

We manage all major regulated waste streams and offer OSHA and HIPAA compliance training, delivering a 99.7% on-time pick-up rate1 with our fleet of more than 7,000 trucks.

We reduce your risk through full chain of custody and proprietary, real-time tracking systems in addition to compliance experts to keep you informed of federal, state, and local regulatory developments.

We minimize landfill waste, collecting 56 million pounds of plastic and 1.5 billion pounds of paper, and are invested in reducing our fuel-related emissions, achieving a 4% reduction from 2017 to 2019.2
1. Based on Stericycle data, RMW Missed Stops Report, YTD August 2018.
2. Based on Stericycle data, 2018. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important to dispose of pharmaceutical waste correctly? 

Safely disposing of pharmaceutical waste protects your business, your community, and the environment. To minimize risk, it is critical to identify what regulations govern the specific medications you have to dispose of, and then select a disposal service and vendor that meets those requirements. Stericycle can provide safe and compliant handling and disposal of all kinds of medication: pills, inhalers, liquids, patches and more. 
 

How do you dispose of expired medication? 

Medication waste generated from a commercial business (such as a hospital, doctor’s office or pharmacy) is regulated differently than medication waste generated from a residence or household. Commercially-generated pharmaceutical waste is regulated by EPA and DOT during transportation and disposal. It is critical to select a knowledgeable and qualified vendor like Stericycle to help you navigate this regulatory landscape. In addition, Stericycle offers specialized disposal solutions for medications that are further regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as controlled substances due to their addictive potential.


What does the EPA final rule on hazardous waste pharmaceuticals mean? 

Stericycle’s summary of the EPA final rule can be found here. Our regulatory experts will help your business prepare for specific regulatory demands. 

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