Home generated medical waste in Nice (France)

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.