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Type 1 Disposal of Free style libre 2 sensors and applicator

ninasings said:
There is soo much plastic in the pharma industry I sometimes wonder whether going back to the 60's when my mum had insulin injections from a glass syringe w insulin drawn up from vial kept in the fridge wasn't more eco friendly
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Glass syringes wear and then provide very inconsistent injection volumes so no; we do not want to go back there (I can recall using these when diagnosed in 1975 and thought even then there has to be a better way!). A lot of the plastics are now increasingly becoming environmentally friendly - they will biodegrade in a much shorter time than was previously the case. What alarms me if I'm honest is the waste in tablet packaging that goes on - pack sizes for the same drug but from different manufacturers can be startlingly different, with 'blister packs' sometimes containing one weeks supply the size of a playing card, then from an alternative you get 28 tablets on half the size blister. Now - that's not environmentally friendly!
 
I’ve been advised by my Clinical Waste folks that both censor and applicator need to be collected in bins so I now have one with a lid for sharps and one without (to be put on before collection) for Libre 2 - they can then do the recycling?

I get my clinical waste collected on request so it may depend on where yiu live and how your local council operates clinical waste collection?
 
Everyone has their own idea of what goes where, much depends on your local city policies on recycling.
For me, I use the (almost clear) applicator lid as an ant trap for my hummingbird feeders. I drill a small hole in the center of the lid (through the center post without damaging it) and slide a metal S hook through... and then fill the lid with water.
As for the rest of the device, I don't think there is any more DNA on any part than a Kleenex might have when blowing your nose and the sensor that goes under your skin is not a needle, so it doesn't need to go into your bio-hazard or sharps container. Though it does easily pry out of the sensor if your really really adamant put that in the sharps and then the rest of the sensor which I find hard to break open, contains a circuit board and battery. So that part really should go into your battery recycle. I just put the whole sensor into the battery recycle.
And as for the applicator, which has short needle to get the sensor filament under the skin, it is so protected that you'd have to break open the applicator to get at it, can just go in the regular trash. And again, any DNA on that needle is so small of an amount... I don't worry about it.
 
Agree and do everything you say. Apart from the packaging nothing is really recyclable and by the time the 'needle' is ready to be discarded it has lost its stiffness anyway.
 
Does anyone have simple matches any more? Touch any flame to the sensor filament and it simply sterilises and disappears. The applicator is a little more complex but a screwdriver simply releases the spring and pliers or tweezers pulls out the little needle for the sharps box Why waste NHS money on large sharps box?
 
plantae said:
For the applicator it’s a pity they can’t be recycled or repurposed (as some kind of craft project or something, I dunno). Just seems like a lot of plastic to ‘waste’
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I dismantle the applicator and use the springs to make small calendars and notebooks which I give to the local Cancer Research charity shop. They have a list of people waiting them!!
 
ninasings said:
There is soo much plastic in the pharma industry I sometimes wonder whether going back to the 60's when my mum had insulin injections from a glass syringe w insulin drawn up from vial kept in the fridge wasn't more eco friendly
Click to expand...
Totally agree
 

Because it is the rule where I live. Decided on by our ccg. Thought it was barmy, but it has to be so.
 
I was told that the applicatuon that is used to push the sensor onto your arm must also go into the sharps bin. My local,council now give me the bin without the lid on as they dont go through the lid. The rest goes into the bin
 
Im partially sighted so wouldnt be able to do that to the pieces, nor have i anyone who can. Safer in a sharps bin.
 
I am new to using libre sensors also and can't get a sharps bin from my local authority(north Lanarkshire Council)was told years ago to dispose of sharps in an old milk carton otherwise I would have to pay for uplift
 
i throw the plastic cover and box in the recycle bin the rest goes in general waste , I think this proves how difficult recycling can be ,
 
I throw both in the bin. Common sense says that neither are a risk to anyone. The experts will tend to play it safe unnecessarily adding to cost and nuisance. BTW Libre 3 when we can get it uses a much smaller applicator which helps reduce waste.
 
Novo Nordisk now recycle pre-filled pens. My pharmacy provides containers for 12 used pens, needles must be removed, the box is pre-paid and goes by Royal Mail tracked 24 so it’s free of charge.
 
If you are concerned about the sensor filament, simply apply a flame. A common match will cause it to disappear.

If you are concerned about the insertion needle even though it is firmly retracted into the applicator after use, a screwdriver will release it if used firmly and the small conical ended needle can be put in a sharps box.

How do you dispose of an Elastoplast or any other item that gets contaminated with blood? Do you bother?
 
Hi David
I put the old sensor back in the applicator and screw the top on tightly and put it all in the plastics recycling.
Hope this helps
John
 
I've looked at Tom's video on YouTube too and I put the needle in the applicator into the sharps bin and the rest in my recycling bin. I hadn't thought about the battery in the sensor so I'll disassemble that from now on too so that can go to the supermarket battery bin.

I read something ages ago about Abbott providing a recycling option but sadly they haven't done anything yet.
 
I use a 2 litre sharps bin; invert the old sensor into the 'new' applicator once I have used it, screw the cap on and in the sharps bin it goes. The rest I place in a normal refuse bin. I don't find the process particularly 'environmentally friendly' if I'm honest but it seems the best they can come up with at the moment (I feel a lot of medical devices which are time-limited in use fall into this category BTW).
 
Started with Libre 2 last autumn and the first few sensors I just threw in the household rubbish. Then found out they contain a battery, so I now collect them with other used batteries to go in the battery recycling at our local supermarket. I live in Norway where there are very strict rules about how you dispose of your rubbish, with hefty fines for doing or getting it wrong.
I retain the box of the current sensor in case it fails, so I have an easily readable lot number to send it back as a return to the hospital department that sends me a 3 month supply. If a sensor rails, or drops off.. they can claim a refund from Abbott.
I use very little insulin on a daily basis so I regularly, so far, have insulin left after the pens have been out of the fridge for a month. I am uncomfortable throwing these in the general rubbish, and return them to my pharmacy. The same as I would return any unused or out of date medications.
Needles and lancets I dispose of in ordinary rubbish. Have requested a sharps disposal box from my DSN, but none have been forthcoming.
 
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