Ever since the mis-guided reversal of colour coding for clinical wastes, from red/yellow/Tiger, to yellow/orange/Tiger there has been a plethora of minor publications concerning errors in waste segregation and proposing some sort of enforcement, local or otherwise, to drive improvement in segregation.

Now we are beginning to hear of the reclassification of many clinical wastes, to encourage down-regulation by practice if not through any formal change in regulatory guidance or legislation. Local Authorities ken to abandon the separate collection of sanitary/offensive wastes started the ball rolling and now this have been picked up by various nursing groups keen to show their green credentials. Proposing diversion of wastes from the “infectious” to the sanitary wastes stream, they are happy to encourage landfill of these wastes to prevent incineration with little care, and less understanding, of the negative implications of that change.

But whatever process is used for waste treatment, some degree of waste segregation is essential. Colour-coding is key to this, and all waste production sites must have clear and unambiguous pictograms to support training in waste disposal. It wall falls down when we go to the sack holder. In so many sites these sack holders are all identical, distinguished by an inch or so of plastic sack peeping out from around the lid. It’s no wonder segregation errors occur.

Environmental Hygiene Products (EHP) Ltd, are offering waste sack holders with clearly labelled lids that should greatly improve segregation at source. Other producers may have similar products, in the full range of colours, but this happens to be the first Tiger Stripe sack holder I have noticed.