Healthcare waste

Healthcare Waste is classified as 'Clinical Waste' when a clinical assessment identifies that the item of waste:

• poses a risk of infection
• poses a chemical hazard
• contains medicines with a pharmaceutical-active agent

Examples of Clinical Waste include:

• human or animal tissue
• blood or other bodily fluids
• excretions
• drugs and/or other pharmaceutical products
• swabs and/or dressings
• Syringes, needles or other sharp instruments
• any Healthcare Waste which may prove hazardous or may cause infection to a person coming into contact with it.

Clinical Waste should never be disposed of with general Household / Commercial Waste or recycling. It requires separate collection 

If the waste presents a hazard or risk of infection, it should be classified and described appropriately and will need to be separated and packaged for appropriate treatment and disposal. This will be in an Orange or Yellow bag/bin to be determined following a clinical assessment. The healthcare practitioner is responsible for the correct classification, removal or arranging to remove, and disposal of this waste.

If you are a patient and you are unsure if waste produced by treatment or self-care is Clinical Waste, which requires a separate Clinical Waste collection service, please ask your healthcare practitioner.

If you run a business and you are unsure if waste produced on your premise is Clinical Waste, which requires a separate Clinical Waste collection service, please ask your Commercial Waste Contractor.

Medical sharps are items of healthcare waste that could cause cuts or puncture wounds, including:

• needles and the needle part of a syringe
• scalpels and other blades
• broken glass ampoules 
• the patient end of an infusion set

Self-medicating patients that need to inject medicines at home (eg diabetics), require a colour coded sharps box suitable for the type of medication being administered.  Your GP or healthcare practitioner will prescribe the correct type of sharps box at the time of your diagnosis and will train you how to use it safely.

Once a sharps box is full (note the “fill line”) you should seal it to prevent accidents.  Sharps boxes must be disposed of appropriately, DO NOT place them in your bins at home.  You can take your sealed sharps boxes back to the GP or healthcare practitioner responsible for your prescription or to a local pharmacy.

Doncaster Integrated Care Board (Doncaster ICB) and Doncaster Council have jointly commissioned a sharps box collection / delivery service for self-medicating patients in Doncaster.  A private company called ‘Sharpsmart’ operate this service, making collections of sealed sharps boxes from patient’s homes.  Your GP’s or healthcare practitioner can make a referral for your sharps boxes to be collected from home at the time of your diagnosis.

It is important that new patients have arrangements put in-place through their GP or Healthcare practitioner, requirements can change depending on the type of medicine being administered and your medical status.

Existing patients that simply need to change a home collection date or no longer require a sharps box collection can contact Sharpsmart directly, customer service can be contacted using the details below:

By phone:        01388 348 007

By email:         Doncaster@sharpsmart.co.uk

By post:           Unit 1, Enterprise City, Meadowfield Avenue, Spennymoor, DL16 6JF

Healthcare Waste is classified as ‘Offensive Waste’ when a clinical assessment identifies the item of waste:

- does not pose a risk of infection 
- does not pose a chemical hazard 
- does not contains medicines with a pharmaceutically-active agent but may be unpleasant to others who come into contact with it 

Examples of Offensive Waste include non-infectious:

• minor first aid and self-care waste such as plasters 
• nappies and incontinence pads 
• stoma and /or catheter bags
• sanitary products and used condoms 
• animal faeces and/ or soiled animal bedding 

Self-medicating patients and the disposal of medical sharps

Self-medicating patients that need to inject medicines at home (eg diabetics), require a colour coded sharps box suitable for the type of medication being administered.  Your GP or healthcare practitioner will prescribe the correct type of sharps box at the time of your diagnosis and will train you how to use it safely.

Once a sharps box is full (note the “fill line”) you should seal it to prevent accidents.  Sharps boxes must be disposed of appropriately, DO NOT place them in your bins at home.  You can take your sealed sharps boxes back to the GP or healthcare practitioner responsible for your prescription or to a local pharmacy.

Doncaster Integrated Care Board (Doncaster ICB) and Doncaster Council have jointly commissioned a sharps box collection / delivery service for self-medicating patients in Doncaster.  A private company called ‘Sharpsmart’ operate this service, making collections of sealed sharps boxes from patients' homes.  Your GP’s or healthcare practitioner can make a referral for your sharps boxes to be collected from home at the time of your diagnosis.

It is important that new patients have arrangements put in-place through their GP or Healthcare practitioner, requirements can change depending on the type of medicine being administered and your medical status.

Existing patients that simply need to change a home collection date or no longer require a sharps box collection can contact Sharpsmart directly, customer service can be contacted using the details below:

By phone:        01388 348 007

By email:         Doncaster@sharpsmart.co.uk

By post:           Unit 1, Enterprise City, Meadowfield Avenue, Spennymoor, DL16 6JF

General household waste ordinarily contains plasters, dressings and incontinence products. Where the healthcare worker produces the same or similar items these can be double-bagged and placed in the black bin, with the householder’s permission ,provided the amount produced is relatively small (less than 7Kg per collection cycle is a useful indicator)

If the householder is self-medicating with no healthcare worker involved, they are able to dispose of their own waste in the black bin. Stoma and /or catheter bags should be emptied into a toilet before being wrapped or bagged and placed in the black bin.

If a healthcare worker is involved in the care of a stoma patient, the waste from a stoma patient can be disposed of in the black bin, unless, following a ‘Clinical Assessment’, the classification changes eg. Infectious.

Incontinence pads are only classed as Clinical Waste if the patient / resident producing them is suffering from an infectious disease. Non-infectious incontinence pads are normally classified as Offensive Waste and should be wrapped thoroughly before being put in your black bin. Infectious incontinence pads (Clinical Waste), as determined by clinical assessment, must be stored and collected separately from other waste. The healthcare practitioner should make suitable arrangements for its collection and disposal, not the resident.

Any unwanted, unused or out of date medicines should be returned to your local pharmacy.  Do not put them in the bin, down the drain or pass them to other people.  This includes items such as:

• Creams
• Tablets
• Patches
• Sprays
• Liquids
• Inhalers

Disposing of unused or expired medication may seem like a small task, but if it is not disposed of safely it can pose serious risks to both public health and the environment.  Leftover medication can be accessed by children, pets, or anyone who might misuse it. This increases the chance of accidental poisoning and unsafe consumption.

When medication is disposed of incorrectly - such as by flushing it down the toilet or throwing it in the bin - it can pollute our waterways and harm wildlife. Pharmaceutical waste can seep into rivers and lakes, affecting fish, plants, and even the quality of the water we rely on

Additional residual waste capacity may be provided for specific Healthcare Waste (Offensive waste) following an assessment by Council officers.  Special circumstances, such as the production of large quantities of non- hazardous waste generated due to illness or disability may mean you could be eligible for additional residual waste capacity. In such circumstances your standard '240 litre' Black bin would be exchanged for a larger '360 litre' Black bin free of charge. 

Apply for additional waste capacity