There are a variety of reasons why you might have clinical waste in your home, although for the most part, you will have them because you are undergoing treatment for an illness that requires you to perform some of the procedures at home yourself.
The vital thing to know is that no matter why you have clinical waste at home, it is essential that you know the proper way to dispose of it. Want to know more? Here is everything that you need to know about disposing of clinical waste.
What is classed as clinical waste?
The first thing to know is what exactly should be classed as clinical waste. This term is broader than you may realise and covers biological matter, medical equipment, and medical materials. Some of the most common types of clinical and medical waste that you may end up having in your home include:
- Medical dressings which have either body fluids or blood on them
- Sharps such as needles and syringes
- Infectious waste products
- Swabs and dressings
- Stomach or peg feeding equipment
- Incontinence pads or nappies
- Feminine hygiene products
- Human tissue
- Medical instruments
- Unused drugs or medicines
- Outer dressings and protective clothing, even if they are not contaminated with any body fluids.
Can I just put it into a skip?
You may think that any waste can be put into a skip, but this is not the case. You cannot put certain things into a skip; one of these things is clinical waste. After all, clinical waste can pose a risk to human health, and there is a good chance that you won’t want to put anyone else at risk.
It is not unheard of, although it is rare to find that a skip hire worker, or someone who works in waste disposal, ends up being pricked by a needle, which is not something that anyone will want to happen.
What can you do with clinical waste?
The last question that you may find yourself asking is what you can do with any clinical waste at home?
The first thing that you should do is make sure that you know where your particular form of clinical waste sits, and then you can work out what to do with it.
If you have waste on the milder side of things (offensive municipal waste such as nappies and incontinence pads), this can be disposed of in the general waste that you produce in your home. This is because it is not immediately dangerous, nor is it infectious. However, it is not waste that you should put in your skip.
You must put any offensive municipal waste in bags before you place it into your bin, which will help protect those who may handle it.
Suppose you have medical waste classified as sharps (such as hypodermic needles, blades or disposable scalpels). In that case, this waste will need to be placed into a sharps bin that your GP or your local hospital can usually provide. These bins are designed to store this hazardous waste safely and minimise the risk of the person handling it getting injured.
You may not be able to place medical or clinical waste in a skip, but the good news is that there are plenty of things that you can put in skips to have collected. To find out the price of hiring a skip in your area, enter your postcode into the search box provided. Alternatively, please feel free to contact a member of our friendly support team if you would like any other information about our range of services.
