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<p class="MsoNormal">Big news from Santa Clara County!<span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#221D4D">Heidi Sanborn
</span></b><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#221D4D">|</span></b><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#221D4D"> Executive Director</span></b><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><img width="240" height="90" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D3B6FA.94B31580" alt="CPSC logo 750px"></span><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#31005A"> O: (916) 706-3420
</span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#221D4D">|</span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#221D4D">
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#31005A">C: (916) 217-1109</span><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#31005A">
</span></b><u><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#31005A"><a href="mailto:heidi@calpsc.org"><span style="color:#0563C1">heidi@calpsc.org</span></a></span></u><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#31005A">
</span><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaPSC" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="27" height="26" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D3B6FA.94B31580" alt="fb"></span></a><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/CalPSC"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="27" height="28" id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D3B6FA.94B31580" alt="even smaller"></span></a><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"> </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/california-product-stewardship-council"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="27" height="26" id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D3B6FA.94B31580" alt="Screenshot-2014-07-24-09"></span></a><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"> </span><a href="http://calpsc.org/blog/"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="25" height="25" id="Picture_x0020_5" src="cid:image005.png@01D3B6FA.94B31580" alt="RSS smaller"></span></a><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/CalPSC"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="25" height="25" id="Picture_x0020_6" src="cid:image006.png@01D3B6FA.94B31580" alt="youtube-icon smaller"></span></a><span lang="FR-CA" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> SCC Public Affairs
<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, March 7, 2018 8:38 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> SCC Public Affairs <</span><a href="mailto:SCCPublicAffairs@ceo.sccgov.org"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">SCCPublicAffairs@ceo.sccgov.org</span></a><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">><br>
<b>Subject:</b> County of Santa Clara Ordinance Requires Sharps Manufacturers To Fund A Safe, Free And Convenient County-Wide Sharps Waste Collection Program</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <b><u><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></u></b><b><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">
<br>
</span></b><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">March 7, 2018
<b><span style="color:red"> </span></b></span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Contact:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#252525">María Leticia Gómez<b>/</b><strong><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;font-weight:normal">Laurel
Anderson </span></strong><b><br>
</b><strong><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;font-weight:normal">Office of Public Affairs</span></strong><b><br>
</b><strong><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;font-weight:normal">408-299-5119</span></strong></span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><strong><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#252525;font-weight:normal">Roger Ross</span></strong><b><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#252525"><br>
</span></b><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Consumer & Environmental Protection Agency</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">408-918-4620</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#252525"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:center">
<b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">County of Santa Clara Ordinance Requires Sharps Manufacturers To Fund A Safe, Free And Convenient County-Wide Sharps Waste Collection Program</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:center">
<i><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Sharps Industry Must Submit a Comprehensive Plan Within 6 Months</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:center">
<b><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF</span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">.—</span></span><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">
<span style="color:black">The County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors has passed legislation
</span></span><a href="http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=9798&MediaPosition=&ID=90176&CssClass="><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">(</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;background:white">Ordinance
No. NS-517.92</span></a>)<span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black"> requiring sharps manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies who produce and distribute medicines that require home injection to submit and implement a comprehensive
plan for safe disposal of consumer-generated sharps waste. Sharps waste includes medical devices with sharp points or edges that can cut or puncture the skin, such as needles, syringes, and lancets, that are necessary for patient care outside of traditional
healthcare settings. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> “This is a common-sense law that simply requires the manufacturers of sharps to take responsibility for funding and
publicizing a disposal program,” said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who originally proposed the sharps ordinance. “This ordinance will both prevent injuries and assist in stopping the spread of infections and disease, while also helping to keep Santa Clara County
clean and pristine.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><a name="_Hlk508024335"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black"> This “Extended Producer Responsibility” law,
</span></a><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black">requires sharps manufacturers to develop and fund a free, comprehensive program to safely collect and dispose of consumer-generated sharps products. This would include nearly
100 disposal kiosks located in pharmacies, law enforcement facilities, community centers, senior centers and other convenient locations. In addition to the disposal kiosks, there will be many hundreds more locations where residents can pick up a prepaid sharps
container for free mail-back along with online mail-back services for homebound residents. Outreach and publicity in the native languages of Santa Clara County’s diverse population is a further requirement of the law.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black"> “Safely removing used sharps from our environment and waste stream necessitates a targeted customer-centered
convenient collection system, and this ordinance takes us in that direction,” said Consumer and Environmental Protection Agency Director Jo Zientek.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black"> It is estimated that more than 1.7 million sharps products are generated each month in the County of
Santa Clara with that number expected to grow with more home injectable products being introduced each year. While it is currently illegal for sharps products to be disposed of in garbage or recycling bins in a home, there remains limited community awareness
or access to easy alternatives. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black"> Improper and unsafe sharps disposals can transmit potentially infectious pathogens such as HIV and Hepatitis
B and C to those who unintentionally come in contact with improperly disposed sharps. Increased access to proper sharps disposal opportunities will reduce the health risk for our neighbors, coworkers, friends and family in our community working in solid waste
facilities, recycling centers, home health care, senior centers, custodial services and many more.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black"> This ordinance builds upon the County’s success of the existing Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance, first passed
in 2015 and revised in 2017, which provides safe, free and convenient drop-off of unwanted or expired medications. With 57 medicine disposal kiosks currently operating in pharmacies and law enforcement facilities and approximately 100 expected by the end of
2018 along with numerous mail-back envelope pickup locations, residents have increasing opportunities to protect human health and the environment. The County of Santa Clara is on track to have more take-back locations for meds than any county in California.
For a complete list of medicine disposal locations visit <a href="http://SCCMEDS.ORG">
SCCMEDS.ORG</a> or <a href="http://HHW.ORG">HHW.ORG</a> and to find regular sharps disposal ordinance updates and kiosk and mail-back locations as they are added, visit
<a href="http://HHW.ORG">HHW.ORG</a> or call (408) 299-7300 during business hours.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black"> <b><u>ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA
</u></b></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black">The
<span class="notranslate">County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multi-cultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, the fifth largest county in California. With a $6.5 billion budget, more than 70 agencies/departments and
20,000 employees, the County of Santa Clara </span>plans for the needs of a dynamic community, offers quality services, and promotes a healthy, safe and prosperous community for all.
<span class="notranslate"> The County provides essential services including public health and environmental protection, medical services through Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions,
roads, parks, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and scores of other services, particularly for those members of our community in the greatest need.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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