The FINANCIAL — Pfizer and WM Healthcare Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Waste Management jointly announced the introduction of a new, free-of-charge, online pharmaceutical disposal guide for health care providers and facilities called the “Pfizer Responsible Disposal Advisor.”
Pfizer is the first pharmaceutical company to make this resource available to health care professionals to help guide them through sometimes complex waste disposal requirements.
In support of Pfizer’s commitment to product stewardship and the company’s efforts to manage the environmental impact of its products across their lifecycle, Pfizer enlisted the technology of WM Healthcare Solutions’ patented PharmE Waste Wizard, commonly referred to as the Waste Wizard. As Pfizer Inc. reported, the Waste Wizard is an online search engine that provides waste categorization and disposal information for health care facilities, including physician practices, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, and walk-in clinics.
Waste Wizard information found on Pfizer’s Responsible Disposal Advisor informs health care professionals whether the Pfizer drug to be disposed will be a hazardous waste based on the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulations that implement the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). In addition to any relevant waste codes, the Pfizer Responsible Disposal Advisor powered by the Waste Wizard recommends disposal options for full, partial, and empty containers, and provides U.S. Department of Transportation shipping descriptions. Certain commonly used drugs become hazardous waste when health care facilities including pharmacies decide to discard them either because the drugs are specifically listed as hazardous by EPA or because they exhibit one or more of the characteristics of hazardous waste specified by EPA.
“Health care facilities often face complicated requirements to manage their waste streams,” said Tom Polton, Senior Director, Product Stewardship, Pfizer. “The Pfizer Responsible Drug Advisor using WM Healthcare Solutions’ Waste Wizard technology offers an easy-to-use online resource to help hospitals, long-term care facilities, medical clinics, and doctors’ offices determine the disposal recommendations for unused medicines.”
“According to EPA, health care employees, retail pharmacy staff, and other pharmaceutical waste generators are often unfamiliar with or confused by RCRA hazardous waste management requirements, sometimes making it difficult to properly dispose of hazardous pharmaceutical waste,” said Mike McInerney, Vice President of WM Healthcare Solutions. “With Pfizer’s support, we can now make this information available to the health care community at no charge to encourage proper disposal.”
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