Do all states follow the same regulations for pharmaceutical waste disposal?

What is the definition of biohazardous waste?

Is pharmaceutical waste ever found in municipal drinking water?

Isn't disposing of pharmaceutical waste by placing it in regulated medical waste "red-bag" container safe and protecting the environment?

Aren't there just a few pharmaceuticals that are classified as hazardous?

Doesn't disposing of liquid pharmaceuticals down the drain assure that they will be treated properly by the sewer treatment facility and rendered safe to be returned to ground water?

Can't you just look at the Material and Safety Data (MSD) sheets to see if a drug is non-hazardous, or define the type of hazardous compound and the proper way to dispose of the waste?

Can't managing pharmaceutical waste by identifying, sorting, classifying and placing it in the correct and secure waste stream container be easily implemented by most hospitals?

Is there a systematic way to standardize pharmaceutical waste disposal?

What is EcoRex?

How does EcoRex standardize pharmaceutical waste disposal?

What about the safety factor? Don't hospital personnel still have to handle dangerous pharmaceuticals?

How does EcoRex compare to manual labeling and sorting of drug waste?

How does EcoRex compare to manual web database drug identification?

Is EcoRex adaptable to space requirements my facility might have?

Does EcoRex comply with EPA regulatory laws and Department of Transportation requirements?

How does EcoRex result in economic savings?

Do all states follow the same regulations for pharmaceutical waste disposal?
Regulations established by the federal government, individual states, various public and private agencies, cities, counties, and local entities have created a Byzantine web of complicated, contradictory rules that have made it virtually impossible for today's hospitals to implement in full compliance.

What is the definition of biohazardous waste?
Biohazardous waste typically includes waste containing infectious characteristics or pathogens with sufficient virulence and quantity so that exposure to the waste by a susceptible host could result in an infectious disease.

Is pharmaceutical waste ever found in municipal drinking water?
Scientific studies have shown that this waste is showing up in the environment, including the water that sustains life throughout the planet and the water we drink.

Isn't disposing of pharmaceutical waste by placing it in regulated medical waste "red-bag" container safe and protecting the environment?
Red-bag waste is typically autoclaved, shredded and ultimately winds up in a landfill. Hazardous compounds incinerated as red-bagged waste are not treated at a temperature high enough to break down the material to its molecular level and therefore does not sufficiently neutralize it. The practice of disposing hazardous pharmaceuticals in regulated medical waste is also illegal and extremely expensive.

Aren't there just a few pharmaceuticals that are classified as hazardous?
The EPA's definition of hazardous material classifies approximately 3,000 of the FDA National Drug Codes as hazardous.

Doesn't disposing of liquid pharmaceuticals down the drain assure that they will be treated properly by the sewer treatment facility and rendered safe to be returned to ground water?
Municipal sewage facilities were not designed to and do not remove or neutralize all chemicals including today's pharmaceuticals. The EPA is developing new water treatment and safety standards that may address pharmaceuticals in the water.

Can't you just look at the Material and Safety Data (MSD) sheets to see if a drug is non-hazardous, or define the type of hazardous compound and the proper way to dispose of the waste?
MSD documents contain information on the potential health effects of exposure and how to work safely with the chemical product. They do not include information regarding drug waste disposal that is compliant with federal and state regulations.

Can't managing pharmaceutical waste by identifying, sorting, classifying and placing it in the correct and secure waste stream container be easily implemented by most hospitals?
Hospitals do not have a practical, economical and effective system that complies with federal and state regulations for proper identification of drug waste and sorting it to the proper waste stream.

Is there a systematic way to standardize pharmaceutical waste disposal?
Vestara's solution to pharmaceutical waste management standardizes what is today a confusing array of laws and regulations, and outdated listings of hazardous pharmaceuticals. By simplifying the process, EcoRex eliminates the guesswork and subjectivity inherent in pharmaceutical waste disposal, while also increasing workplace safety for clinicians.

What is EcoRex?
EcoRex is a cost-effective, fully automated, integrated technology solution that accurately identifies all types of bar-coded drug waste, then captures hazardous waste, lower risk waste, CIII-CV controlled substances, and aerosols into regulatory-compliant waste stream bins for disposal.

How does EcoRex standardize pharmaceutical waste disposal?
The EcoRex System accesses a proprietary database of all 160,000 plus National Drug Code (NDC) products to conveniently and accurately enable hospital personnel to dispose of spent drugs and sharps in accordance with federal and state laws. EcoRex utilizes an integrated or handheld barcode scanner and touch screen to properly classify waste,then captures as hazardous waste, lower risk waste, and CIII-CV controlled substances, and aerosols.

What about the safety factor? Don't hospital personnel still have to handle dangerous pharmaceuticals?
Each container in the EcoRex station includes an automated level detector for convenient and timely removal. The containers are designed with a superior exclusionary feature so that accessing the container with hands and fingers is nearly impossible. Further, a level sensor will signal EVS when containers are full. Waste stream receptacles remain closed and secure until a user scans a bar code. After disposal, the waste stream receptacle is immediately returned to a locked state.

How does EcoRex compare to manual labeling and sorting of drug waste?
Manual labeling and sorting at the point of care or at the docking area is costly, labor intensive and wrought with inherent problems. Training all personnel to correctly identify and color code each pharmaceutical waste item by hand, then throw each item into the correct hand-labeled container is an extremely difficult undertaking. Human error would be rampant and full personnel participation questionable due to lack of desire and time. A hospital's liability is also possible due to mislabeling and illegal disposal of hazardous drugs. An automated drug waste disposal system like EcoRex eliminates these inherent problems.

How does EcoRex compare to manual web database drug identification?
With nurses handling as many as two hundred medications per day, and facilities disposing upwards of one million drugs and containers per year, proper identification and disposal of hazardous pharmaceutical materials is a daunting task. Accessing password encrypted web-based sites that offer pharmaceutical waste identification for every residual drug and empty container is time consuming, impractical, and takes personnel away from patient care. What's more, one still needs to then manually place each waste item in the right container. Automated pharmaceutical waste identification and disposal through EcoRex eliminates the need to look up codes and regulations and frees staff from human error.

Is EcoRex adaptable to space requirements my facility might have?
Each EcoRex station is modular and configured to the needs of each facility. The specific configuration is based on the required number and type of waste streams and capacity of each type of waste for that area of the hospital. Two cart-based collection stations are available: a high capacity four-bin model, and a dual-bin compact model.

Does EcoRex comply with EPA regulatory laws and Department of Transportation requirements?
EcoRex, from Vestara provides the effective solution to meet or exceed EPA regulatory compliance and Department of Transportation packaging, pre-transportation, and transportation requirements, positively impacting waste disposal costs.

How does EcoRex result in economic savings?
By sorting pharmaceutical waste to the most economical waste stream, EcoRex ensures the lowest disposal costs. EcoRex automatic classification and sorting of drug waste reduces pharmacy and nursing labor costs. Also, the ability of EcoRex to identify pharmaceuticals that can safely be disposed through the sewer or via municipal waste, instead of regulated hazardous means, saves additional disposal costs.