Safe sharps disposal in North Carolina requires you to take certain precautions, including putting the sharps in a special container. If you inject yourself with medications, you should have a sharps container in your home. The container should be a strong plastic container, such as a laundry detergent bottle or a bleach bottle – not something flimsy such as a soda bottle.
Disposing of Needles You Use in Your Home
Safe needle disposal differs from state to state. In North Carolina, you don’t have to use special FDA-approved sharps containers, but if possible, you should. The color of the containers dictates how the disposal company gets the needles ready for proper disposal.
Yellow FDA-approved sharps containers are for the safe disposal of sharps for residential homes. They are to be used for lancets, needles and broken ampoules. Do not put medications in yellow sharps containers. Once you drop these off at the appropriate place, the contents are autoclaved to disinfect them and are then properly disposed of.
Red FDA-approved sharps containers are for the safe disposal of sharps that have been contaminated with cytotoxic medications. This includes needles, lancets and ampoules. When the disposal company sees a red container, it disposes of it by incinerating the contents.
Never put other waste into the sharps containers. And, never reach into a sharps container to take something out. To avoid being accidentally stuck, do not recap the needle and keep the sharps bin close to where you inject yourself so you do not have to walk through the house with a needle in your hand.
Where to Dispose of Sharps Containers
In North Carolina, you are not required to dispose of the sharps with a registered disposal company. You need to duct tape the sharps container closed and write on it, “Do Not Recycle.” However, if you are able to find a place for safe needle disposal near me, it’s much better to dispose of it with the disposal company. You may also bring the sealed container to the Division of Waste Management. Additionally, you may also have alternate options for safe needle disposal, including mail-back programs or by taking a sealed container to your local police station. How to dispose of sharps containers from a residential home is less strict than if the sharps container were in a medical facility.
Medical Professionals
Medical professionals are under stricter rules for medical waste disposal. They must separate medical waste by types and store the waste in the appropriate bins. If you have noticed, exam rooms and hospital rooms have a sharps container, usually hanging on the wall. The rules for safe disposal of sharps in hospitals are different from residential disposal – they cannot simply send the container to the landfill. Thus, you should never stick your hand into a container labeled for sharps, nor should you throw other trash into those bins. Sharps container disposal regulations dictate that sharps must be kept separate from other medical wastes, and that includes the wrapper from burger you ate while you were waiting to be seen by the doctor.
Medical Professionals Compliance
All those in the medical field must abide by certain rules for disposing of medical waste in North Carolina. Keeping the waste separated as it’s created is one of the first rules. Hospitals must use a licensed medical waste disposal company to pick up their medical waste unless they have the facilities to dispose of the waste themselves. It is usually less expensive to use a third party medical waste disposal company to properly get rid of medical waste.
Contact MedWaste Services
If you are looking for a reputable and cost-effective way to dispose of your facility’s medical waste, contact MedWaste Services. We’ll help you set up a schedule and ensure you have the proper containers to dispose of any medical waste that is not treated at your facility.