Every year, more than 3 billion medical sharps are used in the United States … and far too few ever make it to a designated disposal site.1
A considerable portion of these sharps are generated not just in hospitals or clinics, but at home, where patients are often left to navigate disposal on their own.
Thanks to GLP-1 medications breaking ground in treatments ranging from diabetes and obesity to cardiovascular disease and sleep apnoea, patients are increasingly managing care outside of clinical settings.
With new possibilities come new challenges, and when disposal practices hinge on personal responsibility, oversight and consistency become less straightforward.
The absence of clear guidance and accessible solutions often sends used sharps to the wrong places. This gap exposes both safety hazards and deeper shortcomings in the overall patient experience.
The undeniable risk of unsafe sharps disposal
Although these tools facilitate care at home, they were never meant to end up in parks or on beaches.
When sharps are used, they are often discarded in regular trash or public spaces, where the associated risks cannot be contained.
Instead, they extend to individuals, communities and the environment, especially putting sanitation workers, children, pets and others at unexpected risk of injury and exposure to serious infections such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
Beyond the immediate risks, improper disposal also causes lasting harm. Chemicals, pathogens and plastics from these materials often leach into soil and water, disturbing ecosystems and contaminating sources of drinking water.
Further, used sharps can take centuries to break down in landfills, perpetuating a cycle of harm that threatens ecosystems while placing long-term strain on public health and environmental systems.
Yet, at its core, this challenge points to something more fundamental: a part of patient care that’s often overlooked.
Ignoring disposal means missing a key part of the care continuum
When it comes to quality care, attention is predominantly concentrated on diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. But what happens after the medication is used every time?
For those patients using GLP-1 pens, especially those managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, proper disposal isn’t just a practical concern; it’s very much a part of their care journey.
Still, for many, this step is left entirely in their hands. Medications rarely come with sharps disposal containers; furthermore, safe disposal options can be hard to reach or find.
All too often, patients end up having to make difficult choices, forgoing compliance and safety. It’s not necessarily out of neglect, but because of a lack of a clear and accessible way forward.
As much as proper sharps disposal is a crucial safety concern, it’s a decisive component of the patient experience because it affects how supported, informed and safe patients feel while managing care at home.
This is why providing clear instructions, accessible information and practical support in terms of disposal isn’t just optional; it’s indispensable.
For many, the act of self-injection is experienced as a lonely journey — one marked by isolation, uncertainty and the emotional burden of managing complex treatment routines without hands-on guidance or supervision.2
When patients are provided with injectable treatments but given no real plan for disposal, they aren’t just left confused; they’re left to carry yet another burden alone in a process that already demands so much of them.
A survey conducted by PureWay revealed that just 14% of individuals who follow proper sharps disposal practices learned how to do so from a healthcare provider or formal education.3
Meanwhile, 43% said they had to find the information on their own, motivated largely by personal concerns about safety and a sense of environmental responsibility.
This disconnect highlights a glaring gap in provider-patient communication, relegating medical waste to an afterthought. In essence, when patients aren’t given clear guidance about how to dispose of sharps, it not only creates risks to public health and the environment but also diminishes the quality and completeness of their care experience.
Closing the gap
Research shows that patients who receive formal training for proper sharps disposal are far more likely to do so correctly.4
This reinforces the importance of integrating structured patient training into care protocols, particularly when patients are expected to manage routine aspects of their treatment independently at home.
Additionally, evidence suggests that positive patient experiences are closely linked to better adherence to medications and treatment plans.5
Feeling informed and supported empowers patients to engage more consistently in recommended behaviours, including the safe disposal of medical waste.
The inference? Sharps disposal shouldn’t be seen separately from the care continuum or treated as something merely transactional.
Integrating safe sharps disposal into the patient journey also means offering practical and accessible tools that help patients to manage care at home.
Solutions such as mail-back sharps containers can make it easy to collect, seal and ship sharps for proper processing.
By offering a secure, easy-to-follow method for collecting and returning used sharps for safe handling, mail-back options remove the uncertainty and stress from a task that can otherwise feel overwhelming or uncertain.
Beyond individual use, these systems also offer the flexibility to be customised and scaled, making it possible to design sharps disposal programmes that align with different care pathways.
On a similar note, community collection regimes also present a safe disposal option, allowing patients to bring used needles and sharps to designated collection points such as hospitals or pharmacies (the materials are then handled and disposed of through regulated medical waste services).
With thoughtful integration into the continuum, these options not only support proper disposal in line with safety regulations but also assure patients that their actions are responsible — and that they are not alone in this.
Solving for care gaps, safety and sustainability
Safe disposal of home medical waste doesn't have to come at the cost of patient distress. Put simply, the key is to transform disposal from a confusing, isolated task into an effortless extension of care.
Equipping patients with clear guidance and access to designated disposal systems takes the guesswork out of disposal. It enhances the overall patient experience, reduces health and safety risks, and supports a more circular approach to waste.
This ensures that materials are processed responsibly rather than ending up in landfills or harming the environment.
References
- www.pureway.com/blog/what-is-the-environmental-impact-of-the-glp-1-weight-loss-boom.
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10659562/.
- www.pureway.com/blog/concern-for-safety-and-the-environment-frustrates-patients-as-they-scramble-for-safe-medical-waste-solutions-health-providers-can-help.
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29773935/.
- https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/3/1/e001570.full.pdf.