What's in your sharps container?

[dontwakeme]

I've been an RN for almost two years now and I've seen nurses throw the most amazing trash into sharps containers. We were taught in school that sharps waste was paid for by the pound and it's the most expensive trash in town, and never never to put anything in there that wasn't a sharp. We don't have a very clear-cut policy on this, does anyone else?

[RNperdiem, RN]

Pretty much I see syringes, needles, small glass ampules and the occasional wire for placing central lines.

What kind of trash did you mean? Things like gloves, paper towels, old dressing and all the packaging everything comes in is too big to stuff into my sharps boxes easily.

If this is a problem where you work, consider the number and placement of trashcans in the room, and how often housekeeping comes around to empty them. When my unit went to contact isolation for all patients, we needed extra housekeeping help emptying all the trashcans that filled up faster due to isolation gowns.

[CHATSDALE]

there should be a red bag for non sharp of contagious material and a sharps container for needles etc

i have also heard the cost per poound of hazmat material but this is old info not sure about current policy

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

We are very mean with what we put into our sharps containers. We were told our yearly bonus depends on it LOL.

We all want our yearly bonus so we monitor ourselves. Nothing like being told you are throwing your own money away

[deyo321]

Are people wasting meds in your sharps containers?

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

I think a better question for my facility is whats NOT in there. Some of the staff seem to think that the Sharps container is an extention of the garbage can! When I first started I was amazed at what some of the staff will put in there.

What irks me is there are TWO gargages on either side of every med cart in the place! so there is no reason to put trash in the sharps container.

[HonestRN]

Are people wasting meds in your sharps containers?

At my facility yes. We actually waste morphine and dilaudid PCA vials in them because we can no longer dispose of the drugs down the drain due to water contamination. Someone hits the mother lode when emptying our sharps containers.

[Jules A, MSN]

At my facility yes. We actually waste morphine and dilaudid PCA vials in them because we can no longer dispose of the drugs down the drain due to water contamination. Someone hits the mother lode when emptying our sharps containers.

Well thank goodness!

It kills me to think of where all the narcs I just flush end up.

[RNKPCE]

Mybiggest pet peeve and dangerous too is the person who takes out an IV or Saline lock and puts the opsite, tape and catheter(which isn't sharp) in the sharps. Then the tape sticks to the flap and it doesn't go into the container. The next sharp that goes in sticks to the tape on the flap and it doesn't go into the bin. This needlessly risks someone getting stuck by that sharp. Some at our hospital actually had a sharp flip back out of the container because of this.

[Melinurse]

At my facility yes. We actually waste morphine and dilaudid PCA vials in them because we can no longer dispose of the drugs down the drain due to water contamination. Someone hits the mother lode when emptying our sharps containers.

Our facility has the same policy of wasting in the sharps container for the same reason.Don't want to contaminate the water. We have a standing joke now that all the fish are doing to end up in detox.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

We have floor sharp containers in the many of the nursing rooms. From what I see, nurses adhere to it, but the patients don't. I can't even begin to count how many times I had to correct patients by telling them that we have a seperate container for regular garbage. I think that they believe that because they see nurses throw sharps in there, that they can throw alcohol wipes from fingersticks, coffee cups and whatever else in there.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

Wasted meds go in our sharps too.