Medical Device Shredding

The destruction of medical waste devices is important in an industry as highly regulated as healthcare. Whenever there is a need to permanently destroy a device or product so that it cannot be rendered for reuse or consumption, medical device shredding makes the end goal possible.

In this product destruction series, we’ll be looking more closely at how certain types of medical devices are destroyed and why the shredding process can be effective.

Today, our focus is on discarding expired medical devices.

First, let’s discuss which items this would include.

The FDA describes medical devices as items used by healthcare providers and patients to treat, diagnose, overcome sickness or improve quality of life. This can be a simple tongue depressor, bedpan, saline bag or even a pacemaker with a microchip.

Once these items are no longer needed or have become expired, medical waste generators can safely dispose of them using shredding.

Heavy duty machinery is used to process and shred all medical device materials so that it becomes unrecognizable and also acceptable for disposal into landfills.

In addition to speeding up the disposal process, there is also the opportunity to transport more waste to the final destination as greater volumes of shredded matter can be transported at one time.

Not to mention many manufacturers are under strict requirements to shred and destroy any outdated medical devices on the market including those that are defective, any surplus or when a medical product has reached end of life. This destruction is required to be tracked and records to be kept to ensure compliance.

Red Bag’s sister company, Legal Shred, provides us with direct access to product destruction services that meet medical waste disposal laws from the DOT, DEC, DEP, OSHA, local health departments, CDC, FDA and more.

If you’d like to discuss shredding of your old medical devices, give us a call today!

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Village of Pelham Medical Waste Disposal

Service Areas: Long Island Medical Waste; New York City Medical Waste; Westchester Medical Waste and more!