Waste disposal in the 21st century and diabetes technology: a little coffee (cup) or beer (can) with that insulin infusion (set).

The advent of single-use disposable syringes along with myriad similar products for the health care industry has raised interest in the impact of these devices on the environment. Interest does not stop at impact of the device, but also includes associated pharmaceutical agents. Across the spectrum of health care, providers as well as end users of products are assessing the impact of product design and contents upon land, air, and water. In this issue of Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, Pfützner and colleagues tackle the issue by focusing on a product for the diabetes patient. As environmental sustainability has become part of the evaluation process of many products, their assessment sheds some interesting light on the impact of a group of devices when compared and contrasted against the ever-popular disposable coffee cup or beer/soda aluminum can. Regional variations in waste disposal practices need to be understood when conducting these types of assessments.

Disinfected so it is safe and works.

There has been an upsurge in interest in monitoring the cleanliness of the health care environment as it relates to disease transmission. Cleaning and disinfecting practices are nothing new in health care facilities. However, continued development of analytical medical products such as point-of-care devices or, as in this review, glucose meters, has created potential risks to patients on a number of levels. Examples are (1) inappropriate disinfection of glucose meters so that the risk of disease transmission is increased and (2) cleaning agents potentially affecting glucose reading accuracy. Cleaning and disinfection recommendations have become available to address these issues. In this issue of Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, Sarmaga and colleagues discuss the impact of a disinfecting agent on results generated from a particular device, which suggests that not all equipment are created equal and not all practices/products used to clean and disinfect are the same. It appears that more interaction must take place between vendors of these technologies as well as vendors of cleaning/disinfecting agents and the end users who will be performing all the requisite tasks to ensure a high quality product as well as care.