Problems getting rid of used sharps and unused meds

[Youngatheart00]

Had a failed NHS cycle in the autumn. Am still sitting with a sharps bin full of used needles and also lots of unused medication.

Both pharmacy (two separate ones) and GP are refusing to take it, as they don’t take needles!! The best the GP could say was ‘contact the council’, which I will do, but wondered if anyone had any solution or can tell me what they did with the waste and unused products. What do diabetics do - they must have needles!

Fall back if no other solution is to take them back to the hospital where we had the treatment but it is a 2 hour round trip on public transport, has no parking, and I have really negative connotations with the place so would like to avoid going back if I can.

The council arranges my sharps bin. There's a number to call when required, and they'll collect the full one and leave a new one. So I would ask the council, as already suggested.

Do contact the council. Mine picks up sharps bins once a week and it was easy to arrange. Call or email them, leave the box on your doorstep the night before, gets collected by 7am on the allocated day.

A pharmacy should take unused meds and dispose of them for you.

Sharps are the council's responsibility and they will be able to arrange a collection with you. Unused meds you should be able to get a pharmacy to take, but they won't take any needles as part of that.

Your doctor can provide a sharps bin- they are yellow and small, you can get portable ones, and then some surgeries or pharmacies will collect them.

I had a small yellow sharps bin as I had to inject myself with blood thinner for a week after an operation - my surgery would not take it & very loudly told me so in front of waiting room full of people who all looked at me like I was some sort of drug addict, it was utterly humiliating

You can take them to your local
Hospital I think but I have a pharmacy near me that takes sharps too. Perhaps call up some near you to ask?

Thank you all for the helpful advice. It is reassuring to hear others say Council too - I just felt like I was being passed from pillar to post with the pharmacy and GP both saying no! Shall give them a call this aft and then drop the remaining meds (minus any needles) to the pharmacy.

We are likely to be starting a new cycle soon with slightly different meds and I don’t want any confusion!

The council - although I feel bad because I totally forgot to leave mine out .... ooops

I told my doctors surgery I would just buy them in a normal bin if they didn’t take them so they took them and said on this occasion only and would put them in with their used needles bin... why carnt they just do that anyway is beyond me... but then I realised you can take them to a place called turning point which we have in our local town they provide needles to drug addicts (stupid I know but it so they don’t use dirty needles or leave them in the streets) 😟

buy = leave

I had to contact council. They sent a yellow bin and then collected it

Looks like council is the solution. Thanks all

Some branches of boots will take them.