sharps disposal in home

[yayanurse]

Could anyone give me some guidance on where to dispose of sharps in the home? If I draw labs do I carry a sharps container in my bag to dispose of used sharps and then carry sharps from pt to pt? We are a new agency and do not have a clear policy on this. Thanks for any help.

[annaedRN, RN]

We have a company supply us sharps containers - we also send them back a filled up box of filled sharp containers. I don't know the name of the company. You should check into it - my guess is that you could get cited/fined by the "governing agencies" if you don't have that in place. We recommend families to use old bleach bottles for syringes and old pill bottles for lancets and label them as "SHARPS" but I've never seen the nurses use that.\

[seanpdent, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP]

We have a company supply us sharps containers - we also send them back a filled up box of filled sharp containers. I don't know the name of the company. You should check into it - my guess is that you could get cited/fined by the "governing agencies" if you don't have that in place. We recommend families to use old bleach bottles for syringes and old pill bottles for lancets and label them as "SHARPS" but I've never seen the nurses use that.\

I was also going to suggest the old laundry bottles for disposing of sharps. I do know you could contact your local or state occupational health agency, or maybe get in touch with some of the local hospitals and see if they have any contact information about disposing of sharps. Maybe they could give you some names/numbers of companies for a portable sharps container.

But then where will you dispose of the portable sharps container.... lol... a vicious cycle.

Best of luck.

:paw:

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

We brought our own sharps containers with us. Families around here can go to the local landfill/dump and ask for an approved sharps container. Since so many places recycle plastics now, the towns were wary of using old bleach bottles for needles.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Both of my parents are diabetics, and they reuse containers that are made of hard plastic (cooking oil bottles, bleach bottles, detergent bottles, etc.) to dispose of their used lancets and needles.

[nightmare, RN]

I use those little plastic containers you used to get film in,before digital cameras.I find one will hold about a week's worth.I usually take it to work and dispose in the sharps container there.

[angshallad]

If diabetics etc. use hard plastic containters to dispose of used sharps (like milk bottles) can they can throw the closed containers in the trash?

thanks in advance, Angela

[BlueRidgeHomeRN]

we have a company supply us sharps containers - we also send them back a filled up box of filled sharp containers. i don't know the name of the company. you should check into it - my guess is that you could get cited/fined by the "governing agencies" if you don't have that in place. we recommend families to use old bleach bottles for syringes and old pill bottles for lancets and label them as "sharps" but i've never seen the nurses use that.\

ditto-you need to have a biohazard waste pickup company as well as a designated "dirty" room!

[caliotter3]

One of the cities I lived in had brochures (which I picked up at a pharmacy) that gave all the required info for home sharps disposal in their city. Basically, they just told people to put the sharps in a container with a lid, put the lid on tightly, and dispose in the regular trash. That was how they wanted it done in that particular city, so I suppose it would be reasonable to ask a pharmacist or call the city sanitation department in each city where you want to know this info. Always wondered about this, and never had containers provided by my employers with, of course, the exception of when we were doing public immunization clinics.