Does this sound like a familiar scenario? The year is 2020, and with the world reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, your healthcare facility is doing the right thing by stockpiling essential supplies. Anything and everything needed to control the spread and reduce infection risks was bought in bulk: from COVID test kits to hand sanitizer to disinfecting sprays to PPE. Now, while it’s still necessary to ensure a supply of these critical products, healthcare facilities are running into an unexpected problem. Many of the products bought in bulk years ago are reaching their expiration date.

Why is this an issue? Not only are these expired products taking up unnecessary space in your storage rooms or warehouses, but they expose your facility to potential liabilities – from the potential for incidental use of an expired product and from the existence of hazardous chemicals in products like hand sanitizer that require unique disposal solutions. Moreover, on top of their day-to-day duties, many facilities managers simply do not have the time to take on a full warehouse inventory with the goal of getting rid of expired products. If this sounds like a familiar scenario, we may be able to help. Here’s how we work together to clear your expired inventory.

TOPICS WE WILL COVER:

1 / Do you know what you’re storing?

2 / Donating expired products

3 / Recycling expired products

4 / Medical and hazardous waste disposal

5 / Daniels Health is here to help 

Do you know what you’re storing?

The first step to clearing out expired products is to do an inventory to understand the scope of your disposal needs. It’s one thing to know you have expired products but another to have a clear list of product types and amounts that require disposal. As mentioned, this can be a time-consuming process, especially the larger your facility gets, and many facilities managers simply do not have the bandwidth to take it on without support.  

That’s where we can help take some of the burden off your plate. Our disposal experts can assist by touring your storage facilities to begin the process of identifying expired products. Some common expired items we find include:

• At-home COVID test kits
• Hand sanitizer
• Bleach wipes
• Disinfecting sprays
• Soaps
• Gloves, masks, and other PPE
• IV maintenance solutions
• Generic cleaning supplies
   

After identifying the scope of your disposal needs, we can work to develop specific disposal solutions for each product type, prioritizing sustainable and cost-effective ways to manage products wherever possible.

The key thing to know about the initial product identification stage is that there really are no limitations to what we can handle in your facility. If the product is expired and requires specialized disposal, we will be able to assist you with a compliant solution. 

Donating Expired Products

Once we have an inventory of your expired products the next step is to determine the right management solution considering factors such as: disposal costs, sustainability, and compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Our first order of business is determining whether any products can be donated. (Yes, this is a viable option for many expired products.)

How does it work? Hospitals and other acute facilities have major liabilities tied to their insurance requirements, meaning it’s a big red flag to do something like use expired products; however, charitable organizations do not have the same insurance requirements or liabilities. In certain cases, they are legally allowed to use expired products as long as they can verify the product is still reliable. We do all the requisite research required for donations, including gathering info on the product, reviewing safety data sheets, and validating usage with the relevant regulatory bodies.

Donating expired products wherever possible is not only the right thing to do, but it also takes significant liability off your plate. Unlike traditional disposal, where the waste generator is responsible for the waste from the moment it is created to the moment it is destroyed, our vetted, 3^rd-party charitable organizations will take full title and ownership of the goods, assuming all liabilities. Plus, there are countless opportunities for promoting these donations as part of any ongoing corporate social responsibility initiatives.

This type of responsible, sustainable management solution is not available to most acute facilities without the support of an experienced waste management solutions provider that knows how to handle the key details and has the appropriate connections.

Recycling expired products

While our number one goal is to find a new home for many of your expired products, the reality is that only a certain percentage can be responsibly donated. The remainder must still be recycled or disposed of.

Once we exhaust any donation opportunities, our next order of business is identifying recycling or fuel blending solutions. Typically, the most common products that qualify for recycling are anything with chemical components that can be broken down and reused, such as hand sanitizer or disinfecting spray.

Medical and hazardous waste disposal

Anything that can’t be donated or recycled is earmarked for appropriate disposal. Depending on the type of products you have, they may need to be managed as a medical or hazardous waste. Once we identify every expired item you have, we will be able to present you with each pathway, clarifying what can be donated, what can be recycled, and what needs traditional disposal.

Then, the decision is yours: if you’re not comfortable with donations or recycling, that’s okay. Our goal is simply to provide you with all potential disposal solutions and the factors that go into each, so you can make the right choice for your facility.

Daniels Health is here to help

Regardless of what direction you want to go in with your disposal solutions, the bottom line is that there’s a good chance you have expired products taking up space in your warehouse.

Those products can’t just sit there indefinitely. They need to be handled appropriately to ensure compliance on your end, and we can help. By partnering with experts at Daniels, you can not only finally free-up that space in your warehouse, but you can do so in a way that is most sustainable and responsible. If you’re ready to get started, contact one of our knowledgeable representatives today.

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