From Andy Shannon, DEQ Medical Waste Expert:
"It depends upon the source of the monitors; whether they were generated in a residence (non-regulated) or whether they were generated in a facility with staff providing glucose testing services to patients as a business (regulated). Residents are encouraged to refer to the 'Sharps Disposal for Michigan Resident' Resource for a listing of HHW programs and other volunteer programs in their area that accept and properly dispose of sharps. Other options can be found in the pamphlet 'The Point is . . . Needles Hurt!'"
It is not recommended that these monitors be tampered with in order to remove the lancet and recycle the plastic portion, unless the unit can expel the lancet for disposal in a sharps container. The plastic should be soaked in a 10:1 water/bleach (sodium hypochlorite) solution to remove any possible pathogens prior to recycling, if that is the case.
For commercial businesses, by virtue of the fact that they contain a sharp lancet that can pierce the skin, even if enclosed in a plastic housing and unused, would be considered a regulated sharp, if generated from a business and would have to be treated in accordance with the Medical Waste Regulatory Act, Part 138 of the Public Health Code."
Michigan Department of
Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy