For many Americans facing health issues, self-injections are a way of life. Americans discard nearly 8 billion used needles outside of a healthcare setting, but the costs of properly disposing them are high—and experts say a majority of these needles regularly end up in the trash.
It’s a dangerous dilemma that places family members, environmental service workers and the general public at risk for injury or infection.
Erin Tenderholt saw the problem firsthand. A family friend managing diabetes and using up to seven hypodermic needles a day could spend $600 or more a year with existing disposal methods. She knew there had to be a better way.
What started out as a passion project for the sophomore business student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison soon became a business with Blexx Technology. Now in her senior year, Tenderholt is looking to take her solution to the healthcare market.
Madison-based Blexx Technology is an early-stage medical waste disposal company. As co-founder and CEO, Tenderholt is behind the development of a small medical device that sterilizes and disintegrates hypodermic needles on-site.
About the size of a water bottle, Tenderholt says users simply insert a needle into a small opening at the top of the device, and the needle disintegrates within seconds. Users can then dispose of the remaining plastic syringe in the trash.
The Blexx device is an easy way to eliminate blood-borne pathogens with a vastly different process than tossing the used needles in a red biohazard bag or bin, she adds.
It’s cheaper than standard collections, too. According to research from the UW-Madison Business Clinic, disposing needles typically costs $.25 a pop. While that number certainly adds up for self-injectors, healthcare organizations and facilities face an even greater budget challenge. The World Health Organization estimates that hospitals administer more than 2 million injections a day in the U.S. alone, and all of those needles have to be properly disposed of.
Tenderholt estimates that institutions could see an average savings of about 20 percent with Blexx Technology.
“Blexx will address high expenses by undercutting the current sharps disposal costs,” says Tenderholt. “Additionally, Blexx will create standards of safety through the immediate elimination of pathogens that can be transferred through needle stick injuries, reducing the opportunity for the spread of bloodborne illnesses.”
Following a round of market research, Tenderholt says Blexx Technology’s first leap will be in nursing homes and traveling home health agencies, though she sees the device having widespread potential, including at tattoo parlors and funeral homes.
Tenderholt’s greatest challenge is getting to graduation and raising enough capital to bring her dreams to fruition. So far, Blexx Technology has been bootstrapped. Tenderholt used her own savings to get Blexx off the ground.
Her hard work appears to be paying off. This past fall, Tenderholt won a Madison-area pitch competition for her concept and drew the interest of investors. She says taking home the top prize served as a reminder of why she wanted to launch a business in the first place.
“Entrepreneurship all comes down to serving God and the idea of stewardship,” says Tenderholt, adding that the name “Blexx” is a play on words for “blessed.” “I don’t think any person is given their talents and opportunities purely to [steer] self interest, but rather to improve the lives of others. With the business itself, I am able to offer a solution that will have a direct impact on improving lives.”
