Diabetes product makers - what about recycling?
One of the things that really bothers me about diabetes is the sheer amount of stuff that we go through.I'm using a Dexcom CGMS and two insulin pumps and a OneTouch Ultra right now. So over the course of a month I basically throw away about this much disposables stuff
- 9-10 insulin infusion sets, with tubing, reservoirs, packaging, used IV prep wipes, etc.
- 180 used blood glucose test strips with blood on them
- 3-4 empty test strip containers
- 1-2 used lancets
- 2-4 Dexcom sensors plus their inserters and wrapping
- 1-2 empty insulin vials
- 1 empty Symlin vial
I know it would be a challenge, but couldn't some of this be made from recycled materials, or at least coded to that it is recyclable? It might only be a small amount of possible recycling but over the course of a year it would really add up.
I'd like to challenge materials folks at the various companies to think about this as they design packaging. See how you can reduce the waste so we're leaving less of an imprint behind us.
For example, I really liked the wrapping for my new Dexcom system. It arrived in a big plastic bubble (like cell phone gadgets at stores) and I was not looking forward to opening it. Imagine my joy when it popped right open and it was marked with a #1 PET symbol so I could actually recycle it. Nice job Dexcom folks.
Labels: diabetes, recycle, reuse, trash
posted by Bernard @ 12:40 PM
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