Disposing of sharps

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Lucyr said:
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.
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I feel a bit silly now, as for this past month since my diagnosis I have definitely been putting used test strips in the sharps bin ... oh well! o_O :rofl:
 
Purls of Wisdom said:
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
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Even if you have never used a sticking plaster for a cut, 50% of the population menstruate at some time in their lives and their used sanitary products go into the household waste, as do disposable nappies. I would guess that as a female you may relate to that. Men's (and womens) disposable razors also go into household waste and will occasionally have traces of blood on them.
Sadly I just broke a favourite crystal vase this morning with lots of tiny glass slivers which are hazardous and that cannot be recycled and therefore must go into household waste. It will go inside a couple of used jiffy bags which sadly also can't be recycled, to make disposal as safe as possible, but waste is hazardous.
Incinerating sharps is a hazard to the environment too, as well as costly, so I try to keep my sharps disposal to a minimum.
I too do my best to recycle whatever I can, but you have to use a bit of logic and common sense with it.
 
Also, every council seems to have different rules about what you can and can’t recycle. Round here we have a blue bin for recycling (glass, tins, paper, and they will now take Tetrapak cartons too but not broken glass or Pyrex), brown for garden waste (used to include kitchen food waste but they changed the rules without telling anyone!), and black for everything else. We have no purple one for broken glass or anything else. We do the best we can with the system that exists round here. My parents live elsewhere and aren’t allowed to put glass in their recycling bin at all, they have to make special trips down the road to the collection point, as they get older that might become more difficult and therefore I wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t bother any more!
 
We have a green box for glass bottles but you can't put broken drinking glasses in there or crystal glass as it is a different composition of glass and wrecks the recycling process I believe. Paper/card, plastics, tetrapacks and tins/foil all go in the blue bin and household waste in the green bin..... why wasn't the recycle bin green and the household waste blue! 🙄 I am on the rural circuit so I don't get glass collection and there are no glass recycling centres locally anymore, so I save mine and then take them up to put in my partner's green box. My sister's system is similar to yours I think @Sally71 and she just lives 25 miles away.
The whole recycling system and sharps disposal needs a complete overhaul nationally, so we all understand it better.
 
Oh yes we can put plastic in the blue bin too, I forgot that one!
 
I keep the little pots the strips come in and after I use a strip it goes in the pot and goes in the bin when pot is full. Sharps go in sealed yellow bin then out in the bin when full. When my bin people collect the bin it is put on the lorry which mechanically lifts it so they do not touch the contents. I see no harm and never once has anyone complained.
 
For the Libre sensor, there are different parts, all need a slightly different approach. This is how I dispose of the applicator:

The applicator has actually a long needle inside. You only realise this when you open them. Only do this, of course, if you are really comfortable with it, but I take them apart and try to recycle the different bits. Again, there is a reason why they are so difficult to open, I think it is a protective mechanism, and these tips are only for the DIYers with some experience with tools.

The long needle in it can be clipped with a needle clipper. After it, you can keep the spring for metal recycling and the plastic can go in household waste.

I attached a picture showing the steps I take, it really takes a minute or so (of course, not the first time 🙂)

Please note that in my earlier post, I had a nice survey about the Libre sensor experience, there is one question about this. The previous post is here, please have a look if you have 10 to 15 minutes spare, it will help to improve things:

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/how-do-you-experience-the-libre-sensor.101160/ 😉
 

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