Where do you put used syringes?

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Beats — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 22:32:33 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]Moving on – is it time for the medical professions to abandon use-once-and-waste plastic items? Should plastic syringes be recycled?[/quote]

I've seen a number of vets 'recycle' syringes, one syringe for dog vaccines for the day and one for cat vaccines. While it is undoubtedly frowned upon, I'm not sure there is actually a reasonable objection to make to this? [Interested in reasoned arguments against this]

The irony of brushing my teeth with a bamboo toothbrush while chucking out a load of plastic syringes daily is not lost on me.

One clinic I worked in soaked the empty injectable bottles in a bucket of water to remove the labels and then used hemostats to remove the top and rinsed them out before they went in the glass recycling. Again, not really PC I suspect, but then perhaps neither is land-fill or mass incineration of waste?

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 21:48:15 GMT

[quote user="Sarah Keir"]

Most waste produced by a practice is non-hazardous - therefore the yellow bag with black stripe is fine. Much cheaper to dispose of as is not incinerated - this goes in landfill.

[/quote]

Quite true and we do use the "tiger" bag for some stuff. I just can't be bothered assessing each used syringe hmmm, is this infectious or not? Especially as the definition of "infectious" for the purposes of this set of regulations seems not to be what you and I would normally define as infectious. We put most stuff in the orange bag and everybody's reasonably happy.

Moreover, if my plastic waste (syringes, drip bags and tubes, etc.,) of which there is a lot, goes for incineration I do know it's not contributing to the hideous plastics pollution of the world. Just a thought.

Moving on – is it time for the medical professions to abandon use-once-and-waste plastic items? Should plastic syringes be recycled? Should we return to re-usable syringes, even if it causes a certain inconvenience?

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Sarah Keir — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 18:13:33 GMT

Most waste produced by a practice is non-hazardous - therefore the yellow bag with black stripe is fine. Much cheaper to dispose of as is not incinerated - this goes in landfill.

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 12:54:33 GMT

[quote user="Iain Richards"]

Careful with the "infectious" tag Evelyn, unless you want lots of haz mat forms and a big bill.

[/quote]

According to my chart (officially approved) Hazardous Waste has five sections: cytotoxic etc. pharmaceuticals, contaminated sharps, photo chemicals, anatomical waste and infectious waste. Infectious waste can all go in a yellow bag (or bin), or can be "further segregated" into an orange bag "for treatment as best practice". Orange bags are cheaper to dispose of than yellow bags, so we do so "further segregate".

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Michael Woodhouse — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 09:43:12 GMT

[quote user="Beats"]without expressing an opinion: one clinic I worked in cut the sharp bit off into the sharps bin with big dog nail clippers having withdrew the plunger a little.[/quote]

Yea, I've been known to do that...........

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Michael Woodhouse — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 09:42:26 GMT

[quote user="bob lehner"]Apparently used syringes on a land-fill site may trigger an investigation to trace back to origin and hefty penalties possible.[/quote]

I dispair. People use them for crafts, refilling ink cartridges etc. What about the ones that go out with oral meloxicam? Think a lot of baby medicine comes with them. You can buy them freely online.

I can see it being an issue if they were all full of blood or medicines but I really do call urban myth. None of the contaminated syringes go in general waste.

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Beats — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 09:36:18 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"] Insulin syringes make me sad.[/quote]

without expressing an opinion: one clinic I worked in cut the sharp bit off into the sharps bin with big dog nail clippers having withdrew the plunger a little.

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Iain Richards — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 08:21:30 GMT

Careful with the "infectious" tag Evelyn, unless you want lots of haz mat forms and a big bill.

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

bob lehner — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 06:48:07 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]

[quote user="bob lehner"] or anything horribly infectious (which he defined as coming from a case you would put in your isolation unit).[/quote]

Why put that in purple top? Yellow bag is for infectious. Goes for incineration.

[quote user="bob lehner"]Make quite sure no syringes end up in land-fill - could be a very expensive error.[/quote]

Why?

[/quote]

Sorry my mistake on infectious stuff didn't mean to include it there - edited out. Jet lag.

Apparently used syringes on a land-fill site may trigger an investigation to trace back to origin and hefty penalties possible.

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 21:18:53 GMT

[quote user="bob lehner"] or anything horribly infectious (which he defined as coming from a case you would put in your isolation unit).[/quote]

Why put that in purple top? Yellow bag is for infectious. Goes for incineration.

[quote user="bob lehner"]Make quite sure no syringes end up in land-fill - could be a very expensive error.[/quote]

Why?

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Michael Woodhouse — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 20:23:45 GMT

[quote user="Liz w"]something I’ve been pondering over for a while - how do you dispose of an unopened needle still in its wrapper that is beyond its use by date? Normal waste or open and put in sharps?[/quote]

Open and put in sharps. Absolute ban in our practice on putting anything other than needles an blades in sharps bins. Insulin syringes make me sad.

[quote user="bob lehner"]Make quite sure no syringes end up in land-fill - could be a very expensive error.[/quote]

WHY? I won't put used syringes in the bin if contaminated with blood or drug but I use them for all sorts. Today I had a lube leak in my fertility box (sounds like a good euphemism) and threw them in normal bin. They were slimey. What about the ones I use for other jobs like glue, oil water etc?

We put used syringes in the clinical waste bags as our contractor incinerates it all so no need to sort. Wrappers and needle covers in normal bin. Needle in sharps. Glass bottles in DOOP bin and I crush them with a big hammer.......

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

bob lehner — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 19:17:14 GMT

Had a 2 hour tutorial from Mike Jessop the King of Veterinary Healthcare Waste last week (not to be called 'Clinical Waste' -that's something completely different apparently).

Anyway - normal syringes (no needles attached) go in blue medicines container (not to be called DOOPS!), or purple-top container if contaminated with cytotoxics/cytostatics (which include cyclosporine , antivirals and some repro drugs). Needles into sharps container.

Make quite sure no syringes end up in land-fill - could be a very expensive error.

The whole subject is incredibly complex and open to different interpretation depending upon whom you talk to....

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Anthony Dennison — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 14:57:14 GMT

[quote user="Sarah Keir"]

Our syringes go in a blue plastic tub like as sharps containers - they are non-hazardous waste (not infectious or chemo/cytotoxics), only contaminated.

[/quote]

We have a yellow DOOP bin for needles, and a blue one for syringes. PCS get pretty stroppy if they find a syringe (even an uncontaminated one) in the clinica lwaste bags.

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 12:39:59 GMT

Currently if I saw a politician bending over I would know exactly where to put to put them but sadly their heads would already be in the way

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Bob Russell — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 11:15:28 GMT

Syringes go into the pharmaceutical waste with empty vaccine bottles and partially used medicines. Needles go into sharps.

Staff members do not separate needles and syringes.

Just remember to shake the containers from time to time. It makes a surprising amount of extra room!

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Rob Loxley — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 20:21:01 GMT

[quote user="Liz w"]how do you dispose of an unopened needle still in its wrapper that is beyond its use by date? Normal waste or open and put in sharps?[/quote]

Don't open; put in sharps bin. Then remind people about stock rotation when restocking supplies.

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Liz w — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 19:47:58 GMT

something I’ve been pondering over for a while - how do you dispose of an unopened needle still in its wrapper that is beyond its use by date? Normal waste or open and put in sharps? ( acupuncture needles of odd sizes).

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Sarah Keir — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 15:40:04 GMT

Our syringes go in a blue plastic tub like as sharps containers - they are non-hazardous waste (not infectious or chemo/cytotoxics), only contaminated.

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Rob Loxley — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 23:42:16 GMT

https://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/BVA_Good_practice_guide_to_handling_veterinary_waste_in_England_and_Wales.pdf

RE: Where do you put used syringes?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 22:31:09 GMT

Syringes are not sharp.

So don't put them in the sharps bin.

Mostly they are "infectious waste" and they go in a yellow bag but they can be "further segregated" into an orange bag for "treatment as best practice".

A syringe containing a drug which hasn't been used at all is not "hazardous waste" and can go in the pharmaceuticals bin if you like.

A syringe which hasn't been used for anything but water can go anywhere, in domestic waste if you like, or a plastics recycling bin if you have one.

I can't be bothered sorting them that much, and the council binmen can get really funny if they find a syringe in their bins, however virgin it might be. I put all syringes in the orange bag (or the yellow bag for a syringe full of pus or a FNAB), and my waste-disposal people are very happy with that.

Cytotoxics are different and if I had any they would most certainly go in a cytotoxic (purple top) bin.

Ah for the dear old days when everything just went unadorned into the dustbin.