Insulet Corporation announced that it is initiating an environmentally friendly disposal program for its OmniPod Insulin Management System. The program will reduce the impact of used Pods on the environment, preventing hazardous waste from unnecessarily entering landfills. It is the industry's first program for the environmentally safe disposal of insulin pump components.
People with diabetes shouldn’t have to choose between taking care of their health and taking care of the environment, said Duane DeSisto, president & chief executive officer of Insulet. We are proud to offer our customers the first environmentally safe disposal program in the insulin pump industry. The OmniPod System makes diabetes a smaller part of life and now it will have a smaller impact on the environment.
The Eco-Pod Program provides OmniPod customers an easy way to reduce their impact on the environment. Following procedures for bio-hazardous waste, the Pods are disassembled and metals are removed and recycled. The remaining components are then pulverized. The process takes hazardous waste that might leach into the ground water out of the waste stream; it also greatly reduces the volume of materials that are consigned to a landfill.
Insulet will pay participants for the costs associated with the disposal process, while program participants are responsible for shipping costs, which are less than $3 per month. Beginning August 1, a Pod Disposal Kit will be included with each Pod re-order. The kit includes all the tools customers need to do their part: a bag for collecting used Pods, a special pre-paid, pre-addressed bio-hazard shipping envelope and an instruction sheet. Every three months, participating customers return their used Pods in the shipping envelope. The first 2,000 customers to enroll in the Eco-Pod program will receive a free, limited-edition eco-friendly tote bag.