Here’s 5 Efficient Sharps Waste Managing Tips You Need To Know

Updated on March 7, 2021

Working in a healthcare institution is often fulfilling as one gets to play a critical role in saving people’s lives. However, the fantastic work doesn’t fail to come with its challenges. Medical waste management is quite crucial in running an efficient healthcare facility. Thus, the need for proper healthcare waste sensitization programs. Here’s what you ought to know about managing sharps waste efficiently. 

Make use of the proper disposal containers.

One of the most important and significant ways of sharps waste is through using the right disposal container. It would help if you worked with an expert waste disposal agency that offers a well-labeled disposable box that will place the sharps, needles, and other items.

Thus, you get to minimize any chances of having needle sticks lying around the facility unattended. These containers often have safety precaution features to prevent the bin from tipping over and having the sharps lying around in waiting to harm children or pets. In the process, you get to reduce any accidental needle-puncture injury.

Always adhere to the community disposal guidelines.

There’s often a stipulated waste disposal procedure that each healthcare facility needs to abide by always. 

Thus, the local authorities must look at the guidelines concerning how waste needs to be handled, including the sharps waste. 

It’s also a chance to look at the trash removal services of the prescribed health department provisions that you can benefit from at a given time. 

Use the right collection site.

When you think of disposing of your sharps waste,  you need to check if there are any supervised collection sites. You can simply search online to find a nearby disposal company or refer to this site for cost-effective services and advise you along the way. It’ll enable you to use the appropriate designated drop boxes offered by the local authority within the given region. Other than getting free services, you ought to check for any nominal charges that get delivered.

Sharp injury reduction 

There are times when you can implement alternative sharps usage as you seek to offer medication through injection, how about your request for other alternatives that will get the job done. Instead of using the intravenous method to administer a drug, how about you choose the oral method.

In some scenarios, you can get to use a blunt-edged needle instead of a sharp-edged needle to administer the drug. Thus, you get to minimize the sharps injuries that might occur within the facility.

Try using the existing mail-back programs.

You can also decide to pay some extra fee to acquire the needed FDA-cleared sharps and sharps disposal containers. You stand to get well-labeled boxes that allow you to follow the manufacturer’s instructions easily.

The use of sharps in medical facilities can get underestimated. Thus, it would help if you had the ideal waste disposal mechanism in play always. Managing sharps waste often prevents eminent damages that seem to lurk. It would be best if you worked with a proper waste disposal agency to benefit from these services and other nitty-gritty items that will ensure you comply with medical waste disposal.  

+ posts

Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.