Can old blood meters be recycled?

[Metal mama]

Hello All,
Does anyone know of any place that will take old blood meters?
I contacted a company in the IP postcode area that accepts old hospital equipment after reading a thread on another board saying that this company would take them, but they said no they wouldn't.
IDDT don't take used meters due to the possible risk of infection, so does anyone know anywhere they can be sent?
Seems such a waste to just give them to the pharmacy to be disposed of.
I've mailed Abbot asking if they can recycle them as they sent me a prepaid envelope with my new meter saying they'd dispose of it for me. I asked do you dispose or recycle? If you recycle I'll send you loads more!
I'm drawing blanks everywhere I ask, does anyone have any info they can share to avoid meters being thrown away?
Thanks all 🙂 .

 

[Mark T]

When you say recycled - you mean reused?

When Abbot say that they dispose of it I would hope that they are actually separating out recycling anything that can be recycled as per the European regulations on electrical items (usually plastics).

 

[Metal mama]

That's what I would hope hence I mailed them. I hope they don't just incinerate them, hence I did not send them anything until they replied!!

 

[Twitchy]

That's a good question! Recently I gad to return a faulty meter/pump remote (accu-chek combo) & was sent a sealable bag, alcohol wipes to clean it with & a de-contaminated product declaration to sign, something to do with not sending hazardous stuff through the mail!! 😱 I guess they have to protect their staff, I tried not to take offense lol 🙄 Makes you wonder if that's why most companies won't bother trying to recycle?? I often wonder about the materials in test strips too, seems such a waste...

 

[Mark T]

...Makes you wonder if that's why most companies won't bother trying to recycle??...

Because it's expensive and cuts right into your margins (if you have much of one)

I would suspect the test strips are too much of a mix of materials to be recycled. You have to separate dissimilar materials which if it is tightly bonded is almost impossible.

An example, if we bond the clear lenses to the non-clear body shell (which are two different types of plastic) on the product my company makes we have to split the two items and grind the surface to make sure no trace of the other plastic is still attached. Plastics can only be recycled when they are uncontaminated by other plastics.

 

[Copepod]

See "Home for recycling meters" thread in Links section - address of a hospital in Suffolk that reconditions medical equipment to send oveseas. Sorry, can't post link as using unfamiliar computer.

 

[Metal mama]

Hi thanks for reply.
Don't send to the Suffolk place as they won't take them (see my original post).
Quite right with your reply about risk of contamination-that's why nobody will take them. But there must be something that can be done with them, surely....?