Sharps bin disposal?

[DorotheaDiamond]

Has anyone managed to find a way to dispose of a full sharps bin? Chemists in my borough won’t touch it, the council website gets me to fill in a form for a collection but I never get any call to arrange it! Council website says otherwise it’s the prescribers responsibility but none of the online pharmacies I’ve used will do it!!!

im going to give up
and just put it in a rubbish bin at this point!

Please don’t put it in a rubbish bin. Just keep it in a drawer for now until you can find a way to dispose of it. Do you know anyone in a council area where they will dispose of them, who could book a collection for you? Or contact the company your council uses direct and see if they can sort it out.

Try a hospital?

GP surgery?

Your local council will have a disposal service. email them and ask. Don't just put them in a bin!

My local council only arranges by email. Once you get in the system it works.

Failing that contact your MP. Nobody wants hazardous waste in a regular bin.

Please don't put them in the bin.
Have you asked at your local recycling centre?

did you get a yellow sharps tub? If so there will be a number on there to call, alternatively you should just be able to hand it in to the pharmacy or you can type free sharps collection into google it will give you your relevant councils contact for sharps

The OP has tried her council, the online pharmacies and local pharmacies. None of them are able to take it.

Pharmacies can't deal with sharps bins. Unfortunately hospital and GP contracts don't permit sharps boxes from anywhere else to be returned to them. Sharps boxes are supposed to go back to the original supplier due to public health regulations. OR, the council will take them on receipt of a signed request from the supplier, then they will take over supply and disposal.
OP, where did you get the sharps box from?
They have to be sealed, signed and dated before return.

I've just googled my local area out of interest as I was wondering about disposal. My own local council has nothing but a neighbouring council says it's fine to dispose of sharps in household waste as long as they are in a secured rigid container.

I requested collection last night and my local council said give us 3 working days to plan a date, from memory they used to email when processed the request.

They still are persnickety over colour I saw. 🤦‍♀️

No there isn’t, it’s an online pharmacy and I’ve tried my local council 4/5 times and have never had a response!

Same here. My full one is sitting in a drawer, but councils with this approach are just setting themselves up for people to put them in general waste. Don’t see how I’ll ever get rid of mine otherwise, in however many years I move house.😆

Try your GP surgery. Mine took the one I had for dh heparin injections. They didn’t ask who had issued the bin or for what purpose the injections were. They just wanted me to ensure the bin was closed and locked before they took it. They did say they only accept over the counter ones when a collection was due the same week.

I have tried - GP, couple of pharmacies, provider, council website, emailed council and they said no, council recycling center (only take needles found on pubic land), private companies can't find one for one small box, anon on local facebook group (who all suggested the previous things I tried even though I said they said no).

GP and pharmacy said they should go back to whoever I got them from 🙈. I have considered putting it in a box and posting back to provider anon - but then thought my DNA would be all over them 🤣

I have a family member who works in a care setting, was wondering if it would be cheeky asking them if they can put it with their sharps disposal......

Otherwise I am a bit stuck for ideas too, so my full bin with lid snapped shut is in a cupboard for now.

I'd post back to provider too! They're online pharmacies and therefore should have some siet of provision/license. If they don't, they should, and customers doing this is what will normalise it.

I am sorry you are having this trouble op. Household Sharps waste is the responsibility of the council - the system used is different in different areas and some do an exceedingly poor job of it.
In my area collection is through pharmacies but only those who have signed up to do it. Details are on the council website but really hard to find. Pharmacies and GPs are not responsible for household sharps unless local arrangements are in place but some do accept them as good will. I am surprised that the council website says it is the prescribers responsibility unless they have a contract in place to fund this.I suggest you continue to get some sense out of the council or ask your GP practice if they know what local arrangements are as they will
have other affected patients and may have been asked previously.As you have found this has been a problem for some time and is escalating rapidly with more injectable medicines in use.It should not be this hard!!!

My council said dispose off in household waste but identify. So I put in a plastic tub with ouch careful written on it.

Google your local needle exchange service, they’ll take your sharps for free. They’re usually located in the centres of cities in easily accessible places. Don’t be nervous, we welcome everyone 🙂

Google needle exchange service or paitent sharps service. There will be pharmacies that accept used needles in a box. It's primarily used for those who are taking recreational drugs but they should also accept other bins.

My council collects one oer household, per annum.

I presently have two full sharps bins (not.Mounjaro).

One was collected successfully.

Last time I booked the slot and was advised, for example, Thursday in two weeks. They came one week later and left an unnecessary empty bin. They said I got the date wrong and they can't collect again for 12 months.

It is a bloody nightmare.

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/find-support/search-for-local-support

If in England this will show local places.

I had a patient who was a refuse collector . He received an injury from a syringe in general rubbish . He had a HIV test straight away but nothing else .

Years later after he got married and had a child he started to have tests because he had been feeling more and more unwell. He was hepatitis b positive from the needle stick injury . His wife and child also had to be tested but , thankfully were negative . The less good news is that he is in liver failure and the treatment for his hep b has not been sucessful.

Sharps containers are not designed to stand up to the rigours of general waste handling and should be disposed of as clinical waste.

Anything contaminated and potentially infectious should not be sent in the general post , it is an offence .

Some pharmacies will take sharps , drugs clinics will , phone up the council about sharps collection. Don’t put people at risk by putting sharps in general rubbish.

This. The whole point of a proper, lockable sharps container is that they are dealt with separately and safely. It is very irresponsible to put them in general waste. If councils are advocating this they need to be reported to the HSE. Legally sharps disposal is the responsibiliy of the prescriber/ supplier of the meds. This is for traceability/ accountability. If they aren't providing the service they need to be reported to the HSE.
I am shocked that councils would put their employees at risk like this.