North Michigan News

State Representative John Roth cast his vote on Tuesday in favor of a proposal designed to provide more flexibility for facilities managing medical waste disposal containers for sharps. The legislation, which received bipartisan support in the House, seeks to extend the duration that underutilized sharps containers can remain in place before they must be replaced.

Sharps containers are typically found in public restrooms and are used by individuals with diabetes or others who frequently use syringes. "Replacing sharps container can be expensive. Low-traffic or rural facilities are constantly frustrated by burdensome requirements that force them to replace sharps containers that may have only been used once or twice," stated Roth, R-Interlochen. "These pressures can lead to less access to sharps containers in rural areas because of the financial burden of replacement."

Under existing law, sharps containers must be emptied every 90 days, regardless of their usage level. This requirement has led to increased costs for low-traffic facilities and particularly affects providers in rural areas who need to replace underutilized containers more often.

Senate Bill 482 proposes allowing a sharps container to remain for up to 18 months from when the first waste is disposed if it is not more than three-quarters full. "By broadening these requirements, we're ensuring the people who provide access to these containers aren't wasting money to unnecessarily replace nearly empty containers," Roth explained. "The hope is that people in rural areas will see these changes and decide to offer sharps disposal access because they are no longer frequently required to replace underused containers."

The bill now returns to the Senate for additional review.