Needle disposal is a critical aspect of maintaining hygiene and safety, especially in sectors like healthcare and tattoo/piercing. Improper handling of needles can lead to serious health risks, including the transmission of blood-borne diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B or C.
When handling clinical waste like needles and other sharps in either of these industries, it is vital that they be disposed of correctly.
To ensure compliance with safety regulations and protect public health, it’s essential to have a reliable and compliant needle disposal service. At NWR Hygiene Group we offer a comprehensive solution to meet these needs.
How should I dispose of clinical waste?
When using needles and sharps, the user is responsible for the correct handling and subsequent disposal. It is imperative that when training for a role, whether it be a phlebotomist, a nurse, or a tattoo artist, the correct handling training be undertaken for the safety of all parties involved.
The process to ensure safe handling before disposal varies per type of sharp item. For instance:
- Syringes: a syringe should remain attached to a needle when disposed of (do not dismantle a syringe from its needle).
- Clippers: a clipper can be used in healthcare to snap off a needle (the needle must stay inside the clipper).
- Lancets: should be disposed of as they are.
Every type of needle, no matter the medical purpose or tattoo needle size, will come with its own set of instructions, directing the user on how to safely handle the needle before disposing. These instructions must be followed for safety reasons.
Top tip: You must never attempt to cap a needle as you could risk injuring yourself.
It is important that needles and other sharps are correctly handled after use for hygiene purposes before discarding them in compliant needle disposal containers.
When using a needle disposal bin, it is important to remember:
- Needle disposal bins should be kept out of reach of children and vulnerable patients.
- You should not attempt to remove the lid once there are sharps inside.
- Needle disposal bins should be stored in an upright position on a hard work surface and should never be overhanging.
- Your bin should never be filled over the marked capacity line.
- When your bin is full to the capacity line, it should be sealed and ready for collection.
Tattoo needle disposal
For any tattoo business, practices must be up to standard. Hygiene is vital to ensure there is no risk of infection. This means that on top of sterilising surfaces, tattoo artists will use a new needle per tattoo.
To ensure your tattoo parlour is a hygienic environment for yourself and your clients, you should not only be disposing of used needles but also all contaminated clinical waste. This includes:
- Ink caps and leftover ink
- Razor blades
- Protective gloves
- Leftover ointment
- Protective gloves
- Used cotton swabs
Effective tattoo needle disposal ensures a streamlined operation, meaning you can ensure your clients that they are receiving quality tattoo services.
Medical needle disposal
It is necessary for hygiene and safety standards that all medical clinical waste is disposed of correctly. This is particularly important in hospital and healthcare settings. If not correctly handled, people could risk injury. Punctures of any capacity can result in blood-related diseases.
The type of clinical waste that should go into medical needle disposal includes:
- Needles
- Broken vials
- Syringes
- Scalpels
- Lancets
The healthcare sector is continuously evolving from research and best practices. Now, there are a multitude of needles and syringes available, including needles and syringes with protective shields or covers. This is typically used to slide over the needle or syringe after use, meaning the administrator is at less risk of injury when placing a needle into the disposal bin.
How NWR Hygiene can help with needle disposal
At NWR, we are committed to maintaining hygiene in professional spaces. We have a range of clinical waste and sharps services that are catered to different industry sectors.
All our sharps bins include a temporary lock, which ensures that discarded sharps cannot be retrieved. This ensures the safety of not only children and vulnerable patients but also individuals using the sharp items.
Our collection of sharps bins come in a variety of sizes, from 5 to 22 litres, meaning the demands of your facilities are accommodated.
At NWR we don’t just supply you with our specialist needle disposal bins, our excellent NWR team will collect your full bins and provide replacements. This means that you can continue to focus on your day-to-day work, whilst we handle the rest.
It is important to remember that you should never dispose of your needle disposal bin or clinical waste bin by yourself. This should be collected by the NWR Hygiene team.
You can get in touch for a quote today or head over to our clinical waste and sharps page for more information on our expert services.
