BD and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego Announce Innovative Pilot Project to Reduce Environmental Impact of Sharps Disposal

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. and SAN DIEGO, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/
— BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE:
BDX), a leading global medical technology company, and Rady
Children’s Hospital-San Diego today announced that they have
implemented an innovative pilot program at the Hospital that is
designed to safely divert a significant percentage of BD sharps
waste from landfills and utilize the recycled materials.

Single-use, disposable medical devices such as needles and
syringes provide clear clinical and public health benefits,
including protecting patients and healthcare workers from the
spread of infections. However, disposal of these devices may create
unintended environmental concerns, and unnecessary costs. BD is
committed to seeking innovative sustainability solutions to address
the environmental impact of disposal without compromising patient
care. One approach BD is exploring to manage its disposable medical
device products is a comprehensive “cradle to cradle” program,
addressing every stage of a product’s lifecycle. This entails
recycling waste materials and utilizing them to manufacture new
products rather than permanently disposing of them in a
landfill.

“The connections between human health and a healthy environment
are inseparable. BD is committed to reducing our environmental
impacts and supporting our customers and suppliers to do the same,”
said Bill Kozy, Executive Vice President, BD. “Rady Children’s
Hospital shares our commitment to sustainability, and we commend it
for its leadership in participating in this important pilot
program.”

“This environmentally-friendly solution to disposing of sharps
wastes falls perfectly in line with our hospital initiatives to
reduce, reuse and recycle,” said Randy Veenstra, Green Team leader
at Rady Children’s.  “We estimate that, thanks to this
program, 38,000 pounds of sharps waste that might have been

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