Annual Report on the Ontario Medications Return Program and the Ontario Sharps Collection Program for the period of January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015 Prepared by: Ginette Vanasse Executive Director, Health Products Stewardship Association 330‐2255 St. Laurent Blvd. Ottawa, ON K1G 4K3 March 31st, 2016 Table of Contents Message from the Executive Director........................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Program Overview .................................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Designated Materials: Pharmaceuticals (Pharmaceuticals, NHP and OTC) ........................................ 2 1.2 Designated Materials: Sharps ............................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Producers ............................................................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Collection Sites .................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Annual Report Requirements and Results Summary ................................................................................ 6 3. Promotion and Education Strategy ......................................................................................................... 12 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 12 3.2 Program Performance ....................................................................................................................... 12 3.3 Regulatory Requirements for Promotion and Education ................................................................. 12 3.3.1 Retail Pharmacy ......................................................................................................................... 12 3.4 HPSA Web Site and Producer’s Web Sites ........................................................................................ 15 3.5. Pharmacy Participation .................................................................................................................... 15 3.6 Municipalities .................................................................................................................................... 17 3.6.1 Sharps Containers and Promotion of Diversion ......................................................................... 17 3.6.2 Municipal Collection Calendars ................................................................................................. 17 3.7 National Prescription Drug Drop‐Off Day ......................................................................................... 18 3.8 Look Behind the Mirror Campaign .................................................................................................... 19 3.9 Windsor & Essex County Crime Stoppers – Take Back Your Drugs Events ....................................... 19 3.10 Canadian Pharmacists Conference 2015 and U of T Phrosh Kits .................................................... 20 3.11 Rockton World’s Fair ....................................................................................................................... 21 3.12 Promotional and Educational Materials ......................................................................................... 21 3.13 Print Advertising.......................................................................................................................... 21 4.0 Collection System .................................................................................................................................. 22 4.1 Product Collected .............................................................................................................................. 22 4.2 Ontario Medications Return Program .............................................................................................. 22 4.3 Ontario Sharps Collection Program .................................................................................................. 25 5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 28 2015 Annual Report Page ii. Appendix 1 a): HPSA Members – OMRP ..................................................................................................... 29 Appendix 1 b): HPSA Members – OSCP ...................................................................................................... 31 Appendix 2: Auditor’s Report (Opinion from Licensed Public Accountant) ............................................... 32 Appendix 3: HPSA Ontario Pharmacy Spring and Fall 2015 Newsletters ................................................... 35 Appendix 4: List of Registered Pharmacies with OMRP and OSCP December 31, 2015 ............................ 37 Appendix 5: List of Participating Police Detachments ‐ National Prescription Drug Drop‐Off Day 2015 ... 49 List of Figures: Figure 1: Total Sharps and Pharmaceutical Waste Collected by Quarter ............................................................ 22 Figure 2: Program Performance ‐ Medications Collected at Retail ‐ 2015 Quarterly District Summary Report .... 24 Figure 3: Program Performance ‐ Sharps Collected at Retail ‐ 2015 Quarterly District Summary Report ............. 27 2015 Annual Report Page iii. Message from the Executive Director This report is submitted on behalf of the 161 producers of medications including 41 producers of medical sharps that are members of the Health Products Stewardship Association (HPSA). The HPSA was established in 1999 as a federal not‐for‐profit corporation with an all industry board consisting of producers of prescription drugs, consumer health products and medical devices (sharps). The HPSA is the producer responsibility organization (PRO) that administers regulated extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs in Canada. HPSA has leveraged its experience as a national PRO to bring promotion and education, material collection, end of life material management and regulatory knowledge to the OMRP and the OSCP. HPSA member producers have been engaged, active and supportive and retail pharmacies have also supported these programs by acting as voluntary collection sites. On October 1, 2012 Ontario Regulation 298/12 “Collection of Pharmaceuticals and Sharps – Responsibilities of Producers” came into effect and is Ontario’s first EPR regulation created under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). Since the transition to a full EPR model consumers have been returning increasing amounts of unused and expired medications and used sharps to retail pharmacies. The Ontario Medications Return Program (OMRP) and the Ontario Sharps Collection Program (OSCP), administered by HPSA are in our opinion effective and compliant with the requirements of Regulation 298/12 and have consistently delivered highly successful outcomes including the following 2015 results: • 90.5% of eligible retail pharmacies in Ontario are registered as collection locations in the OSCP and OMRP. • There has been a 16% increase in medications collected in the OMRP during the first 6 months of 2015 compared to the same period last year. • There has been a 19% increase in sharps collected in the OSCP during the first 6 months of 2015 compared to last year. • Extensive HPSA driven promotion and education activities about the OMRP and OSCP are ongoing with participating retail pharmacies and consumers. It is less than 4 years since Regulation 298/12 came into effect and the performance of the existing industry programs in Ontario are effective, efficient and consumer awareness of programs is increasing. On behalf of HPSA and our board of directors, we thank all of our members and partners for their commitment on health and safety objectives, followed by reducing the impact on our environment. Ginette Vanasse Executive Director 2015 Annual Report Page 1. 1.0 Program Overview The Health Products Stewardship Association (HPSA) is the industry stewardship organization (ISO) created to manage the end‐of‐life for health products returned by the public through regulated provincial programs. HPSA's producer members represent the majority of brand‐owners selling pharmaceuticals (Rx), natural health products (NHPs), over‐the‐counter medications (OTC) and medical devices (sharps) in Canada. The list of producers for these categories of products that are members of HPSA and are participating in the Ontario Medications Return Program (OMRP) and the Ontario Sharps Collection Program (OSCP) are attached in Appendix 1 a) and 1 b) respectively. The OMRP and OSCP address the extended producer responsibility (EPR) for all types of pharmaceuticals and sharps sold for consumer use in the province of Ontario. As such, the programs are limited to the “post‐consumer” waste stream. The programs are designed to ensure that collection service is available in all regions of the province and that all returned products/devices are packaged, handled, stored, transported and disposed of in a safe, compliant and environmentally responsible manner. A precedent setting approach to EPR took effect on October 1, 2012 with the promulgation of Ontario Regulation 298/12 “Collection of Pharmaceuticals and Sharps – Responsibilities of Producers” under the