Recycling Sharps Containers Latest Effort to Reduce Impact on Environment

Hundreds of containers with discarded needles and other sharp objects are sent from Fresenius Kidney Care centers each day for safe processing and disposal, while the hard, sturdy bins are fully cleaned, returned to the clinics, and reused. This innovative program to recycle, rather than discard these containers, is just one part of the company’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact.

In September, we celebrate World Clean Up Day, a day in which nearly 180 countries participate in a variety of programs to combat and reduce solid waste, Fresenius Kidney Care is highlighting its investment in waste reduction through recycling sharps containers. In 2018, the company launched this program as part of its ongoing efforts to improve sustainability throughout the company.

“We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment, and our innovative Reusable Sharps Container Program is a great example of the sustainable solutions we are building for the long-term health of our company and planet,” said Mike Asselta, President of Fresenius Kidney Care. “In protecting the environment, we can further help improve the quality of life for our patients, our employees, and the communities we serve.”

More than 95 percent of the company’s dialysis clinics now participate in the Reusable Sharps Container Program. By recycling one sharps container, the company prevents 3.9 pounds of carbon from entering the atmosphere. To date, the program has engaged 2,472 clinics and reused 895,791 containers, which is the equivalent of 939,472 pounds of carbon entering the atmosphere. To offset this carbon, the company would have to plant 242,000 trees.

In addition to recycling sharps containers, the company has launched other initiatives to reduce both solid and medical waste, recycle resources, and conserve water and energy at its centers. These programs include recycling dialysis machines, cardboard, and Blue Dialysate Barrels, as well as reusing Mircera shipping containers, to name a few.

“World Clean Up Day is a great time to show how we are committed to reducing waste as well as our carbon footprint,” said Kyle Mangan, National Sustainability Manager for FMCNA. “Whether we are recycling sharps containers, dialysis machines, or Blue Dialysate Barrels, we are reimagining how we do business in order to have a greater impact on the environment.”  

As newer dialysis machines replace older ones, practices have been adopted to reuse and recycle machine parts that are no longer in use. In 2019 alone, 6,342 dialysis machines have been retired from Fresenius Kidney Care’s dialysis centers, diverting over 548 net tons of plastics and metal from landfills.

Through the Blue Dialysate Barrel program, FMCNA’s Renal Therapies Group (RTG) recycles the 55-gallon blue barrels that store the fluids used to filter blood. Dialysis centers save the empty containers and delivery drivers bring them to a warehouse where they undergo a quality control process and are refilled to be sent back out for delivery. To date, over 100,000 drums were recycled for reuse. 

To learn more about our conservation efforts through the Reusable Sharps Container Program, read through this infographic.