Sharps Bin

[Ann & Liz]

General query regarding sharps bin. When Lila was diagnosed we purchased one from the vet and it is now full. When we return it today presumably we pay again for another one. Just wondering what others do in UK.? If there are cheaper options. ?

 

[Diana&Tom]

There was a post on one of the FB FD pages this week about a free collection/disposal service run - if I remember rightly - by the local council. I will try to find it ir at least find the member who posted it... I think it was Louise Blake, not sure of her user name here but maybe someone else does...

 

[Diana&Tom]

Have tagged Louise on Facebook and hopefuly she will come here and reply.

 

[Squalliesmom]

I put used needles in cardboard box, something like a shoe box, and take that to the vet for disposal. The vet is fine with it, and it saves me the cost of the sharps containers!

 

[Louise1989]

Hello

So yes your Vet/Pharmacy is obliged to take them HOWEVER - it is not unreasonable for them to request you to put them in a sharps bin dependant on each vet, and yes you do have to pay each time. You do get some vets that don't mind and wont make you. My vet at first was fine we took a tub in but obviously as we inject and test more we have a lot more needles and they started getting a little funny.

I was searching on my local council site to see how they advised we discarded them and they actually do a delivery service when they come and collect from my house and replace with a new sharps bin for free. So effectively I pay for the first bin and that's it. I can even scheduled it weekly/monthly etc.

It is dependant on each council but go on your council website and type "disposing of sharps" and it should tell you.

If you declip the needles you are allowed to just throw in the rubbish but the hassle of that to me is still a lot, as I often do everything on the go I know it sounds silly but I don't have time to be declipping needles aswell. what I was looking in to was something mentioned on another site and that's actually putting them in an empty plastic bottle (milk,. coke bottle etc) and then putting them in a box/bag clearly labelled sharps/clinical waste or something.

The sharps bins if you have to purchase and dispose yourself can be bought on ebay for £5 for a 5 litre and I found this lasted me about two months so quite reasonable its just the hassle of reordering and dropping off that I thought id see if there were other options

 

[Ann & Liz]

Hello

So yes your Vet/Pharmacy is obliged to take them HOWEVER - it is not unreasonable for them to request you to put them in a sharps bin dependant on each vet, and yes you do have to pay each time. You do get some vets that don't mind and wont make you. My vet at first was fine we took a tub in but obviously as we inject and test more we have a lot more needles and they started getting a little funny.

I was searching on my local council site to see how they advised we discarded them and they actually do a delivery service when they come and collect from my house and replace with a new sharps bin for free. So effectively I pay for the first bin and that's it. I can even scheduled it weekly/monthly etc.

It is dependant on each council but go on your council website and type "disposing of sharps" and it should tell you.

If you declip the needles you are allowed to just throw in the rubbish but the hassle of that to me is still a lot, as I often do everything on the go I know it sounds silly but I don't have time to be declipping needles aswell. what I was looking in to was something mentioned on another site and that's actually putting them in an empty plastic bottle (milk,. coke bottle etc) and then putting them in a box/bag clearly labelled sharps/clinical waste or something.

The sharps bins if you have to purchase and dispose yourself can be bought on ebay for £5 for a 5 litre and I found this lasted me about two months so quite reasonable its just the hassle of reordering and dropping off that I thought id see if there were other options

Thank you that's cleared up the situation in my mind. We paid vet £30+ last time and didn't want to be doing that regularly. !Will look on ebay for bins and council website too. thank you.

 

[Critter Mom]

Hiya,

You can get small sharps bins in Morrison's (and, I presume, other pharmacies) and you can also get them from Amazon or ebay.. I only put lancets, used test strips and needle tips in mine and throw the clipped syringe barrels into my domestic waste (tip from my friend's mum - they're both diabetic). My local council also collects sharps from the doorstep free of charge but the clinical waste MUST be in a tamper-proof sharps bin. Our vets charge a small admin fee for disposal (can't remember how much).

If you clip off the needles it takes yonks to fill a 1 litre sharps bin.


Mogs
.

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

I sued to clip off needles until I clipped my hand. With the cheap sharps containers on amazon, I decided clipping was not worth the risk.

 

[Lisa and Smoky]

I was using empty soda bottles made of green plastic. The green plastic is supposed to be a heavier material than clear plastic. My vet takes them and disposes of them for me at no cost

 

[Squalliesmom]

I was using empty soda bottles made of green plastic. The green plastic is supposed to be a heavier material than clear plastic. My vet takes them and disposes of them for me at no cost

So does mine; he doesn't really care what kind of container they are in, fortunately!

 

[Shorty]

Our local ordinance, only requires that sharps be placed into a plastic container that they cannot pierce (so, we put the cap back on), and placed them in an empty 2-liter soda bottle until it was full. At that point, put the lid back on, and we could dispose of it as regular garbage.

I quote:

All hypodermic needles and other sharp medical waste must be placed in a rigid, sealed containers (such as a pop bottle or laundry detergent bottle) before discarding into your trash container.


So, check your local ordinance.... you may be surprised.

 

[Lisa and Smoky]

Where do you live? I'm in PA and they are strict about that here. You can be fined a hefty amount if sharps are not disposed of in a recycling bin here.

 

[Rebecca Thomas]

Thanks for the info @Louise1989 I have already paid for one sharps bin from the vets and didn't know about the council collections. Just checked and Birmingham City Council will bring you a bin and collect and replace it for free once a week. Only took a form filled online and they're coming day after tomorrow. Never even thought of this. Excellent thank you!

 

[Shorty]

Where do you live? I'm in PA and they are strict about that here. You can be fined a hefty amount if sharps are not disposed of in a recycling bin here.

I'm in Tulsa, OK
And that quote is direct from the city website.

 

[Shorty]

We actually bought a sharps bin.... never ended up using it.... we bought it before we knew what was required locally...