Disposal of used Novorapid cartridges

[Tina63]

Could someone please remind me how used Novorapid (etc) cartridges should be disposed of? I tend to put them in the sharps bin, the theory being that made of glass they are technically sharp........but are they?

Thank you!

 

[Northerner]

I just put them in my ordinary household waste, although I think some people recycle them as glass 🙂 I was never told that they needed any specific disposal procedure, like in the sharps bin. There's nothing on the box (or of my lantus) to say you need to do anything special either, although it has brought to my attention that you're not supposed to store your pen in the fridge as I have been doing since I stopped taking it! 😱

 

[Vicsetter]

If it's sharp and been in contact with blood (or potentially in contact) then it's the sharps bin, otherwise it's household waste. So it's just lancets and needles that go in the sharps bin.

 

[Copepod]

Glass recycling bin, after peeling off plastic label - just like any other glass container.

 

[MCH]

although it has brought to my attention that you're not supposed to store your pen in the fridge as I have been doing since I stopped taking it! 😱

I was told this as well and that it's because the dampness in the fridge can affect the mechanical bits of the pens. 🙂

 

[Ellie Jones]

Sharp bins are only for sharps all other clinical waste goes into a Yellow Clinical waste bag..

Your test strips can be put in the normal household waste, as they aren't sharp and there's no cross-contamination issues with them as the very small amount of blood that is used is sucked under a plastic film out the way...

 

[DeusXM]

Is it really bad I just cap my needles and put them in the regular bin? There's no way the sharp bit can ever actually get out and injure someone, and the hassle of setting up a sharps collection just doesn't seem worth it.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Is it really bad I just cap my needles and put them in the regular bin? There's no way the sharp bit can ever actually get out and injure someone, and the hassle of setting up a sharps collection just doesn't seem worth it.

My opinion? Yes it is 'really bad'. At the very least you should get a needle clipper (free on prescription) to sort them out. There's no guarantee that the cap will stay on once it's been squished and squashed on its way to landfill.

Sharps bins are readily available and free.

For me it takes a 2 minute phone call about every 6 months to organise the collection/replacement of the box from my doorstep. Not exactly an onerous commitment.

 

[shiv]

Sharps bins are readily available and free..

Not everywhere - there have been many posts on here talking about problems getting hold of and disposing of sharps bins!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I thought things were moving forward more recently Shiv? I went for years with the ole 'needle clipper and bleach bottle routine' but this seems to be frowned on these days.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Monitoring/Blood_glucose/Disposal_of_sharps/

Needles, syringes and lancets must not be disposed of in fizzy drinks cans, plastic bottles or similar containers as they are not safe for disposal and could result in injury to others. They are clinical waste and need a special system for disposal

England, Wales, Scotland:

In England and Wales some GP surgeries and pharmacists will collect sharps bins from people with diabetes, but they are not duty bound by the law to do so. However your local council does have a duty to collect your sharps bin, but you need to request this service and they can charge you for this if they choose to. In Scotland guidance appears to currently be made at a local level.

The relevant legislation is the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Controlled Waste Regulations 19922.

Hadn't realised some areas might charge for it though - that's a bit rubbish.

Seems like it's *another* D-related postcode lottery

 

[shiv]

Let's hope things are moving forward!

I've just emailed my local council to arrange collection/disposal which it says on their website is free. I'm hoping it'll be hassleless!

 

[DeusXM]

There's no guarantee that the cap will stay on once it's been squished and squashed on its way to landfill.

But if it's been squished and squashed, at worst, it's as sharp as broken glass, something which the refuse industry is geared up to handle. Does it still pose a great risk in those circumstances?

For me it takes a 2 minute phone call about every 6 months to organise the collection/replacement of the box from my doorstep. Not exactly an onerous commitment.

But I live in a block of flats. So I've either the option of leaving a sharps container outside my doorstep (where it could either be picked up by a drug addict, or cause my neighbours to think I'm one myself), or alternatively, I have to be home for the sharps container to be collected. If it's like any other public sector service, that means they'll only actually do anything between 9.30 and 5 on weekdays and presumably won't give you a sensible time either, so I'm then in the situation where I have to take a day off work just to get my sharps picked up. It just seems so unnecessary.

 

[Monkey]

But if it's been squished and squashed, at worst, it's as sharp as broken glass, something which the refuse industry is geared up to handle. Does it still pose a great risk in those circumstances?



But I live in a block of flats. So I've either the option of leaving a sharps container outside my doorstep (where it could either be picked up by a drug addict, or cause my neighbours to think I'm one myself), or alternatively, I have to be home for the sharps container to be collected. If it's like any other public sector service, that means they'll only actually do anything between 9.30 and 5 on weekdays and presumably won't give you a sensible time either, so I'm then in the situation where I have to take a day off work just to get my sharps picked up. It just seems so unnecessary.

Worth asking your GP practice - mine just puts sharps boxes on your repeat, then you drop in the full ones when convenient. I often have several (they'll only give you the 1 litre ones) and they're absolutely fine.

 

[Northerner]

For those who haven't read it, here's my poem The Rude Receptionists

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

But if it's been squished and squashed, at worst, it's as sharp as broken glass, something which the refuse industry is geared up to handle. Does it still pose a great risk in those circumstances?

Some of the recommendations seem to be about reducing the potential psychological impact as much as anything. Assuming you are not carrying anything nasty then you could argue to yourself that it would be fine. But the poor bloke that gets a sharps injury and finds your de-capped used novofine needle jammed right into his hip will still have a *very* long anxious wait while all the blood tests are done and come back all clear. At the very least a needle clipper would save them that (I believe clipped pen needles can go in regular waste, but you'd need to check that)

I can appreciate, given the block of flats/collection issue that a sharps bin might be a bit more of a pain, but I still reckon it's worth asking at GP/Pharmacy/Local Authority website to find out the system in your area.

There are so many of us these days you can't be the only one in your position surely? And as Monkey says, it might just be another thing to remember to take with you when popping to one of our *many* entertaining appointments 🙂

 

[Tina63]

Is it really bad I just cap my needles and put them in the regular bin? There's no way the sharp bit can ever actually get out and injure someone, and the hassle of setting up a sharps collection just doesn't seem worth it.

Unless your needles are different, my son's are double ended and I have indeed pricked my own finger on the 'inside' bit of the needle when the cap was on the proper top, so they are lethal. The other end goes into the insulin cartridge so potentially I could have given myself a mini dose of that. As I did it accidentally it went into my fingertip and was very sore as it went in at force - I hadn't seen it of course or I would never have caught my finger on it.

We are very fortunate in that we just take and collect new sharps bins from our GPs. It's just a pain getting there at convenient opening hours to take them when I have to walk everywhere and have school and nursery runs all day long in the opposite direction. Like everything else though, I always keep a spare in so when we take one to be replaced, we already have a new one on the go. Allows for time to get the full one back.

 

[Emmaathome]

My pharmacy (who supply the insulin, needles and sharps bin) take back the full one, i just drop it back off with them.

 

[Vicsetter]

But if it's been squished and squashed, at worst, it's as sharp as broken glass, something which the refuse industry is geared up to handle. Does it still pose a great risk in those circumstances?



But I live in a block of flats. So I've either the option of leaving a sharps container outside my doorstep (where it could either be picked up by a drug addict, or cause my neighbours to think I'm one myself), or alternatively, I have to be home for the sharps container to be collected. .

needles and lancets may be contaminated with blood, so need to be disposed of according to current legislation.

If your council collect sharps bins from your doorstep then put it on the doorstep, if drug addicts pick it up then maybe they'll stop dropping needles everywhere, anyway you've got rid of it.
Pity you don't talk to your neighbours!

 

[Austin Mini]

Just ask your diabetic nurse and she will put a sharps bin (about half the size as a tissue box) on your repeat prescription request. I fill one about twice a year and take it to the surgery for disposal.

 

[trophywench]

My DSN doesn't prescribe owt ! I expect she could give me a note to take to my doctor though to request it be added to my scrip.

The 'D' nurse (she's also the COPD Nurse and a good many other things nurse too) at the surgery can't prescribe either.

There used to be a Nurse Practitioner, but didn't deal with D and you could only see her if you were an emergency on the days she worked.