Disposing of sharps

[Purls of Wisdom]

Any suggestions how everyone is safely disposing off used strips, lancets and most importantly CGM sensors and applicators? I simply do not agree with what I have been told. I refuse to place them in the bin with the general household rubbish. Would love to hear what other people are doing. Many thanks in advance.

 

[Kaylz]

bin

What is wrong with putting used strips in the bin? After all where do you put your plasters?

Lancets - I use Fastclix drums so each lancet retracts back inside the drum after use meaning there will be no harm to anyone

Sensors - the filament left in your arm is not sharp and bends if it comes into contact with anything so nobody is going to come to any harm, you can bend the filament before binning it and it will stick to the adhesive meaning it doesn't stick up any longer, applicators also retract the needle back inside although some dispose of these in a sharps bin if they have one big enough

Why do you refuse to put anything in the general waste?

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

bin

What is wrong with putting used strips in the bin? After all where do you put your plasters?

Lancets - I use Fastclix drums so each lancet retracts back inside the drum after use meaning there will be no harm to anyone

Sensors - the filament left in your arm is not sharp and bends if it comes into contact with anything so nobody is going to come to any harm, you can bend the filament before binning it and it will stick to the adhesive meaning it doesn't stick up any longer, applicators also retract the needle back inside although some dispose of these in a sharps bin if they have one big enough

Why do you refuse to put anything in the general waste?

Anything which can cause harm to others.

 

[barrym]

Doesn't your surgery prescribe sharp bins? All my stuff like that goes in there for incineration, even the Libre sensor which is what the Abbott website says to do. Not overly happy with that because of the little battery. Marginally better than land fill I suppose???

 

[Kaylz]

How is a test strip to cause harm to others? Where have you put used plasters in the past? What have you done with thing that have broken over the years? glasses, mugs, plates etc? Needles are retracted in sensor applicators so there is nothing to harm anyone sticking out, filaments are soft and bend and will not harm anyone

 

[masna]

Any suggestions how everyone is safely disposing off used strips, lancets and most importantly CGM sensors and applicators? I simply do not agree with what I have been told. I refuse to place them in the bin with the general household rubbish. Would love to hear what other people are doing. Many thanks in advance.

My chemist supplies me with yellow sharp boxes so everything goes in there and I take it back to them when full up to the line. Just ask for one!

 

[helli]

Test strips definitely go into landfill waste. As @Kaylz says it is where I would put plasters, etc. I know some people return them to an old test strip pot and throw them out form the pot.

If your surgery is providing you with sharp items such as lancets, I believe they should also provide a sharps bin. If you are self funding, you may need to purchase your own sharps bin. These are available from Amazon.
Disposal of sharps bins vary per area. Some GP surgeries take them, some pharmacists take them and some are collected by the local council. The council collects my sharps bin (my surgery and pharmacy have no space for full sharps bins) but I have to prearrange this - they do not drive around looking for sharps bins on the pavement.

My Libre applicator always went in the bin as the needle is retracted into the plastic. I use a different CGM now but the same philosophy holds. It is just far more compact.

 

[grovesy]

My chemist supplies me with yellow sharp boxes so everything goes in there and I take it back to them when full up to the line. Just ask for one!

That is not so for all places, differnt areas have systems.

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

How is a test strip to cause harm to others? Where have you put used plasters in the past? What have you done with thing that have broken over the years? glasses, mugs, plates etc? Needles are retracted in sensor applicators so there is nothing to harm anyone sticking out, filaments are soft and bend and will not harm anyone

A test strip can not but blood residue can. Hard to believe but I have been lucky who did not need to use plasters. Broken glass goes in the specifically classified purple bin. I am a recycling pro and a proud one too. Abbotts suggested contacting local council. Even the young pharmacists I happen to know are horrified at the sheer idea of me disposing sharps in the general bin!

Trust me, I am not alone. I have friends who are equally against this practice.

Further more, my dear forum fellow, the Govt has spent millions of £s in educating the general public regarding the dangers from needles etc etc.

I will try my best until successful. X

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

Doesn't your surgery prescribe sharp bins? All my stuff like that goes in there for incineration, even the Libre sensor which is what the Abbott website says to do. Not overly happy with that because of the little battery. Marginally better than land fill I suppose???

I have asked for one today. Hoping it will somehow materialise.

 

[Leadinglights]

I had to inject anti clotting drug for 2 weeks and was given the medication and a sharps bin by the hospital but they would not then take it back, the hospital pharmacy had no licence to take them, local council only collected if you had 5 to get rid of, GP wouldn't take, Boots wouldn't take. I ended up putting in in the general waste wheelie bin.

 

[grovesy]

A test strip can not but blood residue can. Hard to believe but I have been lucky who did not need to use plasters. Broken glass goes in the specifically classified purple bin. I am a recycling pro and a proud one too. Abbotts suggested contacting local council. Even the young pharmacists I happen to know are horrified at the sheer idea of me disposing sharps in the general bin!

Trust me, I am not alone. I have friends who are equally against this practice.

Further more, my dear forum fellow, the Govt has spent millions of £s in educating the general public regarding the dangers from needles etc etc.

I will try my best until successful. X

Well my council don't take broken glass for recycling it has to go in the general rubbish wheelie bin.

 

[Sally71]

A sharps bin is a good idea if you can get one, it can be a bit of a minefield finding someone to take responsibility for getting rid of it when it’s full though so good luck there! Round here I ask for a new one on prescription and then drop it off at the doctor’s surgery when it’s full and they dispose of it. In some places the council will arrange collection.
I don’t think you need to worry about test strips though, if tiny bits of blood residue were a problem then every household in the country would have to be issued with a biohazard bin. What about women who menstruate, we aren’t allowed to flush that sort of waste down the loo any more so where else can it go?? Certainly not in recycling or garden waste...

 

[grovesy]

A sharps bin is a good idea if you can get one, it can be a bit of a minefield finding someone to take responsibility for getting rid of it when it’s full though so good luck there! Round here I ask for a new one on prescription and then drop it off at the doctor’s surgery when it’s full and they dispose of it. In some places the council will arrange collection.
I don’t think you need to worry about test strips though, if tiny bits of blood residue were a problem then every household in the country would have to be issued with a biohazard bin. What about women who menstruate, we aren’t allowed to flush that sort of waste down the loo any more so where else can it go?? Certainly not in recycling or garden waste...

Also they change the system too sometimes so you can't rely on it staying the same!

 

[Lucyr]

I put everything (sensors, applicators, (accucheck retracted) lancets, plastic needle caps, test strips) in the general waste except insulin needles themselves which I put in a sharps bin.

If you’re putting test strips in a sharps bin (clue is in the name, they’re not sharp), because of the blood, do you expect people to put plasters, tampons, sanitary towels, tissues from nose bleeds etc in a sharps bin too? Of course not! All goes in the general waste.

 

[Lucyr]

Further more, my dear forum fellow, the Govt has spent millions of £s in educating the general public regarding the dangers from needles etc etc.

I will try my best until successful. X

“The dangers from needles” is in case a used needle, carrying something nasty, pierces your skin.

A used test strip, used sensor, sensor applicator with fully retracted needle, etc are not going to unintentionally pierce someone’s skin. You couldn’t pierce your skin with a used test strip even if you tried.

 

[Kaylz]

A test strip can not but blood residue can.

Well I know I've not got anything so that's 1 reason to be less concerned but talking to someone who's contamination OCD used to be focused on other people's blood and I had very irrational thinking towards it as blood dries the risk of anything being passed on reduces significantly, even a used needle penetrating skin with dried blood on only has a very minute risk of infecting someone, also viruses etc need a living host to survive or a continuous stable temperature and even then the concentration of any viruses are low to negligible, if your that concerned why not do what they suggest for a covid household and not put them in the outside bin for 72 hours?

Broken glass goes in the specifically classified purple bin. I am a recycling pro and a proud one

We also recycle but only broken jars and bottles are to be put it recycling any other broken item like mugs, plates etc have to go in the general waste, regardless of what bin it is in broken glass is likely to do more damage to someone than a needle that is retracted into a big plastic casing as there's nothing visible or sticking out to cause harm to anyone

 

[CivicFreak]

Any suggestions how everyone is safely disposing off used strips, lancets and most importantly CGM sensors and applicators? I simply do not agree with what I have been told. I refuse to place them in the bin with the general household rubbish. Would love to hear what other people are doing. Many thanks in advance.

I put my used strips in the bin, there's no issue there.

For my insulin needles, lancets and sensor applicator and the sensor itself, I have a sharps bin. I am prescribed a 1 litre and a 7 litre bin.

When travelling I also have some mini Frio sharps bins that can hold up to 25 needles. For disposal my local council takes care of that, as my GP and pharmacy no longer take them so I just request a pickup through my council's online portal and they usually take them away the next day.

 

[CivicFreak]

I have asked for one today. Hoping it will somehow materialise.

If you can't get one prescribed you can buy them from Amazon. They're relatively cheap, but if you can get them prescribed then even better 🙂

 

[gll]

I was prescribed a needle clipper and the rest of the (clipped) needle has to go into a plastic container, sealed and put in the general bin (as does the clipper when full). Shampoo bottles were suggested to me.

Not even a proper sharps bin.