Medical waste: law enforcement drug takeback programs.

Existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act, regulates the disposal of medical waste, including requiring medical waste to be treated by specified methods prior to disposal, including incineration in a controlled-air, multichamber incinerator, or other method of incineration approved by the State Department of Public Health that provides complete combustion of the waste into carbonized or mineralized ash. This bill would include among those authorized treatment methods any alternative medical waste treatment solely designed to treat pharmaceutical waste, including a pharmaceutical incinerator, as defined, and would require this method to be evaluated and approved by the State Department of Public Health. The bill would require the department to complete the first evaluation of these alternative medical waste treatments by June 1, 2017, and would require the department to consult with specified entities, including the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the State Air Resources Board, in the evaluation to ensure compliance with all other applicable environmental quality laws. The bill would authorize a law enforcement agency that operates a prescription drug takeback program to utilize a pharmaceutical incinerator up to 4 times per year if the incinerator is evaluated and approved by the department and complies with all other applicable federal and state laws and local ordinances.