A Guide to Sharps Safety & Biohazard Disposal

One of the most important things a medical facility can do after treating a patient is disposing of any type of waste properly. This is especially critical when dealing with biohazard waste disposal, like medical sharps. There are some obvious waste disposal methods to keep in consideration, and healthcare professionals must always ensure they dispose of the sharps in the proper containers. It’s always a good thing to review and educate employees about the importance of sharps safety, so here are some points to consider.

Disposing of Biohazard Waste

When working with sharps, you must always place them in the proper sharps containers. You also need to ensure your containers are placed in areas away from patients or anyone else who shouldn’t have access to them. Close and seal the containers correctly so any possible contaminants won’t escape the container.

Medical facilities must use FDA-cleared sharps containers. The best way to get these containers is through medical waste companies. The best companies will have various containers to suit the needs of your practice.

What NOT To Do

Most of these points are obvious, but it’s always worth repeating. Medical sharps should never be disposed of in regular waste or recycling containers. Sharps could puncture bags or the containers themselves and potentially stick another person. If you have the proper disposal containers in your facility, never place regular garbage in them. They are specifically designed for sharps and other biohazardous waste and should be disposed of correctly.

Risks of Improper Biohazard Waste Disposal

Not following proper biohazard waste disposal methods could lead to serious health consequences for employees, patients and anyone else, not to mention the legal ramifications your practice may face. Improper disposal of medical sharps could cause infections and other diseases in other people and could spread quickly. Sharps container disposal allows this type of medical waste pickup to eliminate improper disposal. Medical waste companies will pick up the containers and take them to their facility where they will be sterilized and made ready for proper disposal

Medsharps takes biohazard waste removal seriously. We want to ensure each medical facility we work with has the proper biohazard bins, and we will even educate our clients on how to properly use them. This is a practice we’ve incorporated since we were founded in 2008, and want to pass it along to your facility as well. Feel free to contact us at any time to learn more about our services.