Solid waste facilities: home-generated pharmaceutical waste: incineration.

The Pharmacy Law provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists and pharmacy establishments by the California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing law required the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, pursuant to provisions repealed on January 1, 2013, to develop, in consultation with appropriate state, local, and federal agencies, model programs for the collection and proper disposal of drug waste. Under the Medical Waste Management Act, the State Department of Public Health regulates the management and handling of medical waste, as defined, including pharmaceutical waste. Existing law defines the term medical waste and excludes certain types of waste from that definition. This bill would vest the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery with the primary responsibility for the disposal of home-generated pharmaceutical waste and, on or before January 1, 2020, would require the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in collaboration with the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the California State Board of Pharmacy, to adopt regulations authorizing the incineration of home-generated pharmaceutical waste by solid waste facilities, as specified. This bill would define the term "home-generated pharmaceutical waste" for purposes of the Medical Waste Management Act and would specifically exclude, from the definition of medical waste and thus from coverage under the act, home-generated pharmaceutical waste.