In a perhaps bizarre legal move, manufacturers of sharps and pharmaceutical companies that make drugs used in the sharps in the state of Minnesota have until July 1, 2011, to share required information on their websites about plans for proper disposal of sharps and lancets.

The plan must include a description of how the manufacturer will:

• provide for the safe collection and proper disposal of sharps
• educate consumers about safe management and collection opportunities, and
• support efforts by other groups with interest in protecting public health and safety through the sale,
  collection and proper disposal of sharps

A public health agency or clinic that participates in a needle exchange program must post on its website a plan that describes how the agency or clinic supports the safe collection and proper disposal of the sharps.

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/0111nlrelease.pdf

This seems to promote responsibility on producers and users for the disposal of their sharps waste, which is no bad thing, but I can’t help but think that the focus of this new law is wrongly directed and will make little or now difference to the standards of sharps disposal.

After all, you can write on a website all that you want about disposal, but putting that into practice is an entirely different thing. There will be much duplication of effort – writing web guides, many of which may vary in the absence of a competent and comprehensive disposal infrastructure.