How to Dispose of Wegovy Pens
It’s estimated that more than 16 million Americans have used injectable medication for weight loss, including Wegovy and Ozempic pens. These contain semaglutide – an active ingredient initially used to regulate blood sugar and treat people with type 2 diabetes. Now they’re commonly prescribed for weight loss in obese and overweight adults.
Wegovy and Ozempic are brand names for semaglutide medication, while Mounjaro is similar but contains tirzepatide. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Wegovy to treat weight loss in overweight and obese adults in 2021. Since then, the use of such injectable medication has grown across the US.
So has the amount of trash that Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, and other pens create. Once used, these pens must be disposed of responsibly to reduce the risk of accidents and environmental damage. They’re different brands but the steps for responsible disposal are similar. Discover how to dispose of Wegovy pens safely.
How do you dispose
of Ozempic pens?
The FDA advises that you should place any Ozempic pens and needles in a sharps disposal container immediately after use. These are small containers that consumers and patients can use to separate needles and sharp items like syringes from other trash streams. They reduce the risk of cuts, punctures, and injuries from used Ozempic needles.
If you can’t get hold of a sharps container or yours is full and you need to dispose of an Ozempic pen, then you can use a heavy-duty plastic household container as an alternative. This must be made from heavy-duty plastic (like an empty laundry detergent tub) with a tight fitting and puncture-resistant lid that’s also leak-resistant.
To dispose of Ozempic, Wegovy, or other weight loss pens from your home, you should check the state, city, or county laws that cover the disposal of needles and medication. These vary depending on where in the USA you live with potential options including specialist pickup from your home, disposal at household hazardous waste centers, or mail back programs.
The sharps container that contains your used Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro pens must be kept separate from other household trash. You must not dispose of the sharps container in your residential garbage cans or collections, as it could cause injury, spread infection, and damage the environment.
Where can you dispose
of Wegovy pens?
Where you can dispose of Wegovy pens, Ozempic needles, and other such waste depends on whether you produce the trash at home and where you live. Check with the trash collection service and/or health department in your local area to see where you can dispose of Wegovy pens and the available services. These can include:
- Drop box collection sites – some hospitals, pharmacies, doctors’ offices, health centers, and certain stores have drop boxes for empty Wegovy pens and used injectables. They should be in a sharps container, and the service might be free or require a small charge.
- Mail back programs – sharps containers that are FDA-approved can sometimes be mailed to collection sites for disposal. There’s usually a charge, which depends on the size and number of sharps containers. Sometimes the manufacturer may include mail-back instructions specific to the medication that you can follow.
- Household hazardous waste sites – check if your local hazardous waste collection site accepts sharps containers that include Wegovy, Ozempic, or Mounjaro pens and needles. You might be able to drop them off or organize collection by your local authority.
- Residential waste pickups – there might be specialist waste pickup services in your area that handle sharps containers. These can vary in cost, frequency, and how they work, so check with your local community to see if they’re available.
- Novo Nordisk Drug Disposal Program – if you use Wegovy, then you might be able to use the free Novo Nordisk Drug Disposal Program. Shipping directions should be included with your Wegovy packaging that you can follow to return empty Wegovy pens and needles for proper disposal.
Businesses must arrange commercial waste collection of any used and empty Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, or other such waste. They should be stored in sharps containers and then removed by fully licensed professionals for safe and secure disposal.
Where can I get a Wegovy
pen disposal container?
You can get a sharps disposal container from many local pharmacies (including stores such as Walmart and Walgreens). Online retailers like Amazon also sell sharps containers that you can use to dispose of Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, and other weight loss pens.
If you use Wegovy, then you might be able to get a free Wegovy pen disposal container from Novo Nordisk. The company manufactures the medication and provides free sharps containers for those who use Wegovy. It includes return shipping information to send the container back when it’s full for responsible disposal.
Businesses such as hospitals, healthcare centers, pharmacies, and other organizations can get sharps containers to dispose of Wegovy pens from professional waste management companies. At Business Waste, we can provide sharps containers to dispose of weight loss, diabetes, and other injectable medication pens, needles, and other sharps waste properly. Contact us today for more information.
Tips for safe Mounjaro needle disposal
These are a few things you should do to get rid of Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy, or other needles safely:
- Keep sharps containers out of reach of children and pets to avoid them knocking them over or injuring themselves
- Ensure the lid is secure and leak-proof to reduce the risk of access and contamination
- Label sharps containers properly where required
- Replace every sharps container before it’s full so it doesn’t overflow, or mean you don’t have anywhere to dispose of Mounjaro pens
- Never throw out Mounjaro or any other needles with your household trash
- Use a coffee can, laundry detergent bottle, or other heavy-duty plastic container that’s puncture-resistant with a tight lid if you don’t have a sharps container
How should businesses dispose
of Ozempic pens?
Businesses must arrange commercial waste collection of any sharps and other types of medical waste by licensed professionals. Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, and other injectable medication pens and needles are clinical waste and must be removed and disposed of appropriately.
Any pharmacy, healthcare facility, hospital, care home, store, or other organization that has empty, used, or expired Ozempic pens and other injectable medication waste must store it safely in sharps containers. Use professional clinical waste disposal services such as Business Waste to get rid of yours.
Organize collection of sharps containers on a frequency that suits your needs, and fully licensed professionals will remove the waste. It’s transported to an appropriate facility for disposal away from landfill. Get a free quote and more information about medical waste management for your business today – call 888 584 2118 or contact us online.
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