The Passing Of A Titan – David Hames

A pioneer of sharps disposal by mail. A builder of trust. A friend.

We lost a friend, and the industry lost a trailblazer. David Hames helped reshape how medical waste is managed in the United States, not from a corner office but alongside the people doing the work. For more than forty years he showed what professionalism, hard work, and a customer‑first mindset look like in practice. His passing leaves a hole that will be felt by colleagues, clients, and friends across the country. His impact will keep working quietly in hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and homes every day.

Where the story starts: on the road

Davids in his career always worked hard, in hauling hazardous waste long distances, to medical waste program management and more. The work was demanding and exacting, and it forged habits that never left him: safety first, details matter, promises kept. He learned the regulations inside and out. He learned how to solve problems in the field. Most of all, he learned that the stakes are human.

Turning an idea into a standard: Sharps Compliance

In the mid‑1990s David joined Sharps Compliance as their first employee. Sharps disposal by mail was still an idea, not a norm. David helped turn it into a real business and something hospitals, clinics, retail pharmacies, and manufacturers could rely on. He built programs that worked in the real world: clear packaging and labeling, training that stuck, simple returns, documentation that stood up to audits.

Over the next two decades he didn’t just sell the concept. He proved it. He helped make mail‑back disposal a practical, compliant, cost‑effective standard. Along the way he built more than fifty million dollars in mail‑back business, partnering with major healthcare systems, leading retailers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. That number isn’t just revenue. It represents safer facilities, fewer needlestick injuries, and less medical waste ending up where it shouldn’t.

Scaling stewardship: Stericycle

David later served as a National Account Manager at Stericycle from 2012-2025 as National Account Manager. The title stayed the same, but the scale grew. He brought the same steady touch to complex, multi‑site programs and kept the focus where it belonged: listen carefully, simplify what’s complicated, deliver what you promise. Customers knew where they stood with David because he never left anyone guessing.

Beyond the numbers: how he worked

What set David apart wasn’t only what he built. It was how he built it.

• He showed up prepared. Meetings started on time and ended with decisions.
• He took ownership. Regulatory nuance or logistics tangle, he stayed until it was resolved.
• He made compliance simple. He believed the best solution is the one people can actually use.
• He kept it human. He measured success by adoption on the floor, not just by contracts on paper.

If you worked with David, you probably remember the question he asked more than any other: What would make this easier for the customer? Then he found a way to do exactly that.

Mentor, consultant, and friend

After his tenure at Stericycle, David retired from full‑time roles but kept giving. He mentored our team and advised our business as a consultant. The guidance was practical. The standards were high. The care was genuine. He pushed us to be clear, to do the unglamorous work, and to keep our word.

Legacy highlights

Pioneer of mail‑back disposal
One of the original champions who helped the United States adopt sharps disposal by mail at scale, proving it could be safe, compliant, and convenient.

Builder of enduring programs
More than fifty million dollars in mail‑back partnerships across healthcare, retail, and pharma, built on trust, documentation, and day‑to‑day usability.

Guardian of safety and compliance
Relentless about getting the details right so nurses, pharmacists, and patients could focus on care instead of paperwork.

Customer‑first operator
A simple philosophy that changed outcomes: listen, simplify, deliver. Then stay long enough to make sure it works.

Mentor and standard‑setter
A steady hand for colleagues and clients, modeling what it means to lead without fanfare and to leave things better than you found them.

How we carry the legacy forward

We honor David best by working the way he did.

• Start with the customer. Understand the day, the constraints, the risk.
• Make compliance simple. If it isn’t easy to follow, it won’t be followed.
• Sweat the details. Training, labels, manifests, returns, audits. That’s where trust lives.
• Measure what matters. Adoption, incident reduction, satisfaction.
• Teach the next person. Share the playbook so the work outlives you.

Thank you, David

To David’s family, friends, colleagues, and customers: thank you for sharing him with an industry that needed his steadiness and his standards. We are better because he was here. His absence will be felt, but the systems he built and the people he trained will continue to serve the mission he cared about.

“Rest well, David. We will carry what you built with the same energy and determination you brought to every day.” – Jeffery Miglicco