Published: 09 May 2018

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Published: 12 April 2018

MED-3R mesures to improve the collection of home generated medical waste

When disposed with household waste, home generated medical waste produced by self-managing patients, represent a health threat for the waste collecting and sorting employees. Numerous accidental cases are recorded each year in France. Potentially lethal virus such as the HIV that causes AIDS, the HBV and the HCV that cause hepatitis B and C may be transmitted through stings or cuts due to perforating infested material.

There are 1.4 million of self-managing patients on the French territory, producing annually 360 tons of home generated medical waste. Within the Metropolis of Nice Cote d’Azur territory, the number of such patients stands at 11,800, representing around 3 tons per year of such hazardous waste. Those high numbers justify the frequent occurrence of accidental cases and require subsequently the establishment of adequate regulations.

According to the French finance Act 2009, applicable as from 1 January 2011, regarding the treatment of this type of waste, it is for the pharmacies, the hospital pharmacies and the medical laboratories, to collect free of charge, the home generated medical sharps waste, produced by self-managing patients. These latter should be supplied with medical sharps containers upon presentation of their medical subscription. It should be noted that healthcare professionals whose intervention generates sharp medical waste, are responsible for their disposal (excluded to the DASTRI services).

Following to the awareness actions for pharmacies, conducted by the Metropolis of Nice Cote d’Azur, 112 collection points for the home generated medical waste have been assigned over the metropolitan area. It is possible to geo-locate them at the following address: http://nous-collectons.dastri.fr.

By the Decree of 12 December 2012, a national approved eco-organization called Dastri was nominated to collect and treat the home generated medical sharps waste from the determined collection points over the French territory. Thus, these waste and their containers shall be incinerated or sanitized and destroyed.

The Metropolis of Nice Cote d’Azur conducted a communication campaign through the MED-3R project, to inform and raise users awareness about the risks of these hazardous waste. It provided them with the contact details of the 112 pharmacies that can collect their medical waste.

By the ditribution of 13 200 flyers, this campaign allowed to reach number of people, hoping to avoid accidents that sometimes are irremediable.

Published: 07 May 2018

Published: 12 April 2018

MED-3R mesures to improve the collection of waste of electrical and electronic equipment

Electrical and electronic equipment correspond to the equipment working thanks to electric currents or electromagnetic fields and equipment generating, transferring and measuring such currents and fields and which voltage rating does not exceed 1000 Volt for alternative current and 1500 Volt for direct current. Waste of electrical and electronic equipment (or WEEE) may be classified into two main categories, the household WEEE and the professional WEEE.

Household WEEE include the following flows: cooling major appliances (such as refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners), non-cooling major appliances (such as ovens, washing machines, cooking hobs and electrical radiators), mixed small appliances (such as toys and telecommunication or computer equipment), screens (such as televisions, monitors or computers) and lamps.

WEEE often contain products harmful to the environment and public health, as greenhouse gases (refrigerants), heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, aluminum) and other toxic compounds (arsenic, PCBs, asbestos, PVC incineration releasing dioxins and furans).

In most industrialized countries, this type of waste is experiencing strong growth (3 to 5% per year) and represents approximately 5% of household waste. Generally, the French generate around 1.3 million tons of WEEE per year, only 0.34 million tons per year are recycled, and the rest are either illegally exported to Asia and Africa, or incinerated or buried in French landfills.

By the Article L.541-10-2 and the articles R. 543-172 to R.543-206 of the French environment code, regulations have been implemented; forcing EEE distributors to take back used equipment when selling a similar one, to report annually the EEE quantities placed on the market, collected and treated, and to inform the purchaser of the negative environmental and public health impacts, the requirement not to dispose these waste with the household waste and the visible fee levied for contributing to disposal through the eco-design or the eco-participation.

A specific sector for collection and effective management has been developed for professional WEEE since 2005 and for household WEEE since 2006. Four approved eco-organization have been established: Recyclum, ERP France, Eco-Systèmes and Ecologic, to found the OCAD3E, a coordinator approved organization, handling relations between the four eco-organizations and the territorial authorities, as these latter are in charge of collecting WEEE from households.

Following to their collection, WEEE are thus, either taken up by one of the solidarity economy enterprises for reuse, or de-polluted since many of them are considered dangerous, then they are recycled as they comprise an important source of recyclable materials (such as glass, plastic and metals), or used to produce energy as solid recovered fuel (or SRF).

In France, a national target of 10 kg/inhab./year has been set for 2014 (with an acquired rate of 6.9 kg/inhab./year in 2013). On a voluntary basis, territorial authorities have the ability to develop a selective collection of household WEEE within their civic amenity sites. Thus, the Metropolis of Nice Cote d’Azur wanted through the MED-3R project, to contribute to improving the collection rate of these waste on its territory. For this purpose, four WEEE storage boxes have been made available to the local population at the civic amenities of the west of Nice, of Isola, of Valdeblore and of Cagnes-sur-Mer, in order to collect the non-cooling major appliances, being an important source of recyclable materials that can be easily disassembled. This work will be accompanied by communication actions conducted among the citizens of the Metropolis of Nice Cote d’Azur and vocational trainings to reinforce local technicians and engineers.

WEEE storage box for the collection of non-cooling major appliances at the civic amenities of the west of Nice.

WEEE storage box for the collection of non-cooling major appliances at the civic amenities of Isola.

WEEE storage box for the collection of non-cooling major appliances at the civic amenities of Valdeblore.


WEEE storage box for the collection of non-cooling major appliances at the civic amenities of Cagnes-sur-Mer.