South Tyneside council is to scrap domiciliary clinical waste collections.

Announced on their website, the move is no doubt predicated on concerns regarding cost.

As an alternative, households producing sharps wastes are advised to “contact the District Nurse or other healthcare professional who will be able to advise on their correct disposal”.

“Any other medical waste such as dressings, bandages nappies etc. may be placed in your normal refuse bin, but please bag securely beforehand”.

This move will undoubtedly save money, and that is no bad thing. But I wonder what might be the cost of incorrectly disposed wastes, spilling from black bags or slipped into household recyclables that cause health and safety concerns and/or bring picking lines at the recycling hall to a standstill as a sharps bin bobs along the conveyor?

Time will tell if this change in approach will really save money, when viewed as a bigger picture, or just push costs from one budget holder to another?  And in the middle of this there is firstly, that patient who must struggle that little bit harder to manage their wastes – not a problem for many but a likely challenge for the housebound and chronically ill. Can social services – also funded by the local authority – cope with this additional burden?

Secondly, I foresee problems for waste handlers and others working for the local authority refuse services who no longer have the protection of a clear colour-coded warning of the possible hazards associated with these wastes.  The line of reasoning may follow the naïve ideas of the Environment Agency who in its earlier guidance could not foresee ‘any risk of infection associated with clinical wastes from an orthopaedic ward as these patients have a generally low incidence of infection’, ignoring of course the inevitability that individuals with Hepatitis B or C or HIV infection break bones too.  Astounding incompetence from their technical adviser and others who draft this nonsense, that was  quietly withdrawn and redrafted after this was drawn to their attention.

Time will indeed tell if this policy change by South Tyneside will work safely, since that must be the key determinant.  Other local authorities may well follow suit, while the Environment Agency sit quietly and do nothing at this possible risk and potential ‘violation’ of their guidance.

Let us hope there are no serious accidents.