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Safe Drug and Consumer-Generated Sharps Disposal

Notice of Determination

On April 5, 2019, the Director of the Alameda County Department of Environmental Health approved the MED-Project LLC document entitled, "A Product Stewardship Plan for Unwanted Medicine from Households, Alameda County, California", dated February 15, 2019, as revised March 27, 2019. This stewardship plan was submitted in compliance with the Alameda County Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance, Chapter 6.53 of Title 6, Alameda County General Ordinance Code.


PREVIOUSLY APPROVED PLANS  


  • Alameda MED-Project LLC Product Stewardship Plan - Dated 1-30-2015, as revised 2-23-2015

Current Locations Where County Residents May Drop-Off Unwanted
Prescription and Over-the-Counter (OTC) Drugs and Used SHARPS

There are now 85 collection sites throughout Alameda County where residents can drop-off their unwanted prescription and OTC drugs, including 46 sites where residents can also drop-off used Sharps. This updated information includes sites managed by the Alameda MED-Project Stewardship Organization, as well as several Walgreen's stores where an independent unwanted drug collection program was initiated during 2016.

Pursuant to Sec. 6.53.080 of the Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance and Section 6.54.120 of the Safe Consumer-Generated Sharps Disposal Ordinance, every Producer, group of Producers or Stewardship Organization operating a Product Stewardship Program must submit to the Department an annual written report describing the Program's activities during the previous reporting period. Below are the Annual Reports and report supplements submitted to the Department, beginning with plans implemented during 2015. The most recent additions are the 2020 MED-Project Annual Reports memorializing activities occurring during 2020 in both the Safe Drug and Safe Consumer-Generated Sharps Disposal programs.

Each annual report identifies the Producer(s) that are participating in that plan, available through the links below.

Alameda MED-Project LLC Annual Reports and Report Supplements


Exelixis, Inc. Annual Report and Report Supplement

SAFE DRUG DISPOSAL

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed the Alameda County Safe Drug Disposal (SDD) Ordinance on July 24, 2012. The Board of Supervisors subsequently approved amendments to the SDD Ordinance on February 2, 2016. The revised SDD Ordinance is effective March 3, 2016.

The Director of Environmental Health adopted revised SDD Regulations on October 16, 2013 following a public hearing held on October 8, 2013. The revised SDD Regulations will assist efforts to implement, administer and enforce the Alameda County Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance located at Title 6, Chapter 6.53 of the Alameda County General Ordinance. The Regulations will be revised to reflect the amended SDD Ordinance, while also incorporating provisions to facilitate administration of the new SSD Ordinance.

  • A copy of the SDD Regulations with 2013 revisions can be found here: SDD Regulations 

SAFE CONSUMER-GENERATED SHARPS DISPOSAL

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed the Alameda County Safe Consumer-Generated Sharps Disposal (SSD) Ordinance on November 15, 2015, adding Chapter 6.54 to the Alameda County General Ordinance Code. The SSD Ordinance places certain requirements on pharmaceutical and Sharps manufacturers that sell or distribute products in Alameda County usually intended for administration outside of a healthcare setting. The SSD Ordinance took effect December 18, 2015. Regulations for the SSD Ordinance are currently in development.

FEE SCHEDULE / COST RECOVERY

The following is a 3rd party Stewardship Plan developer whose Plan for the collection and disposal of unwanted Covered Drugs from Alameda County residents was approved by the Department on Feb, 25, 2015 following a Public Hearing. The Plan Owner has indicated that Producers interested in complying with the SDD Ordinance requirements through participation in a 3rd Party Stewardship Plan may contact them about joining their Plan.

Contact information for Plan developers:

The Pharmaceutical Product Stewardship Work Group (PPSWG) established a limited liability company, Alameda MED-Project LLC, as the Stewardship Organization for their Plan, with updated contact information:

Victoria Travis, Program Director
Alameda MED-Project LLC
4096 Piedmont Ave Unit 544
Oakland, CA  94611-5221
(510) 227-9798
alameda@med-project.org 

Notification of participation with a Product Stewardship Organization:

Companies who have joined a Product Stewardship Organization (PSO) that has submitted or will submit a Plan in which they will participate, may use this form to notify the Department of their participation in compliance with Section 4.B.ii of the Regulations. Each individual company or organization must be identified and contact information included, even if it is a subsidiary or affiliate of another company. Each individual company or organization must specifically confirm participation in a PSO. Companies may also notify the Department by presenting the required Section 4.B.ii information on company letterhead in lieu of the form.

The Teleosis Institute, July 11, 2014

The Teleosis Institute completed a review of unwanted prescription drug collection and disposal data since 2007 in Alameda County. The assessment provides both quantitative and qualitative insights into the first seven years of the initiative's implementation offering policy advice for furthering successful collection efforts in the future. Overall, data indicate an increase in unwanted prescription drugs collected from residents over the period of this study, from 473 pounds collected from the initial ten collection locations in 2009 to 13,919 pounds collected in 2013 from 31 locations, an average of 449 pounds per site annually.

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