The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized its standards for managing hazardous waste pharmaceuticals. The updated standards, “Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the Hazardous Waste Listing for Nicotine,” aim to reduce the cost and compliance burden for the healthcare sector and ensure the safe management of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals, according to the agency.
Additionally, these changes aim to provide regulatory certainty and national consistency on how the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) applies to the reverse distribution of prescription pharmaceuticals. With this rule, EPA is also taking a regulatory approach to the disposal of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies (patches, gums and lozenges), which will no longer be considered hazardous waste when discarded.
