Needlestick emergency treatment
Many employers in the waste sector, and many Local Authorities, provide some key rules or action points for use in the event of a sharps (needlestick) injury. Repeatedly, the need to allow […]
drug litter
Another community sharps hazard?
The recent trend – is is a craze? – for tanning salons that results in young women, and many others who are old enough to know better, turning into something the […]
Safer flu vaccine delivery
The season for flu vaccine is not far away and in the UK alone millions of vaccine doses will be administered, almost every one from a single-use pre-filled syringe. In […]
Hepatitis C – a growing hazard for waste handlers
The most recent national estimates suggest that around 216,000 individuals are chronically infected with hepatitis C (HCV) in the UK. A proportion of these, especially those on the farthest periphery of society […]
Man steps on needle in Bournemouth Hospital car park
In an horrific twist on the now all-too-common tale of sharps injury to a member of the public coming into contact with a discarded needle, usually discarded drug litter, a Bournemouth […]
Temporary walkways for sharps contaminated land
A new device, or perhaps just a new application, of temporary walkway matting has been announced by Timbermat Ltd. Proposed as a mat to allow workers safe access to sharps-contaminated land […]
HSE Consultation on proposals to implement the 2010 Sharps in Healthcare Directive
Far better late than never, HSE is proposing consultation on proposals to implement the 2010 Sharps in Healthcare Directive. Late because the implementation date will soon be upon us and […]
Where is the clinical waste from farming and veterinary work?
A vet has been fined for illegally dumping sacks full of medical waste contaminated with blood. On June 23, 2011, five black sacks containing syringes, drug bottles and articles contaminated with […]
An Olympic shame?
The Olympics are upon us. As one who lives in London, I can’t say for one moment that I’m looking forward to the unprecedented level of disruption that is will […]
Government dragging its heels over needlestick horror – Unison
“Unison, the UK’s largest union, today called on the Government to end the horror caused to NHS nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants and other health workers by sharps injuries. According to […]
Discarded needles on school premises
Finding discarded needles is a common occurrence on school premises. In the national audit of Local Authority approaches to the management of drug litter, to be published in July in CIWM Journal, […]
Offering solutions, solving problems…Not!
Waste Management World reports that cleansing bosses in Exeter are appealing to people not to put hypodermic needles into their recycling boxes. “In one week alone, 113 needles were found in […]
Drug abuse in sport
Drug abuse in rife in sport and the sports culture. Many gyms including those which are part of the well-known high street chains have sharps bins in the toilets or […]
US community sharps incidents
Calrecycle have reported a collection of sharps-related incidents reported in the news: Boy, 7, pricks himself with a syringe he found on an Oakland play yard Beach Closed After Hypodermic Needles […]
Contaminated needle and syringe found as kids take part in community clean-up nearby
“A used needle and syringe “heavily contaminated” with blood were discovered while 100 children took part in a community litter-pick near a primary school. “The discarded needle was found during […]
Infant tested for HIV following playground scare
A 1 year old West Lynn, Massachusetts boy is being tested for possible exposure to HIV after he picked up a syringe with an exposed needle in Ames Playground Tuesday and […]
Melting snow reveals discarded needles
A Thunder Bay, Ontario, woman has come across three syringes lying on the ground as the spring sun melts the snow that has lain on the ground for what is, in […]
Sharps injuries: European Biosafety Summit, London 2012
The European Biosafety Network and UNISON would like to invite you to attend the European Biosafety Summit in London on Friday 1 June 2012. The Summit is a one day […]
Safer needles work!
Safer needles that are mandated by EU Directive 2010/32/EU really make a difference. Sharps injuries are reduced, though there is now anecdotal evidence that the implementation of a new safety engineered needle […]
Gloves come in pairs. Wear both of them!
“A worker at Dunedin’s recycling plant is facing a nervous six-month wait for blood test results after being pricked by a discarded syringe. “The incident happened as the woman worked at […]
Servicing sharps disposal bins
Sharps bins had previously been found only in healthcare premises but are now ubiquitous. Many gymnasia and sports stadiums now place a sharps bin in the male toilets – though vehemently deny any suggestion […]
Saving money
Difficult financial times sometimes demand difficult decisions to be made in order to save money. As the recession bites, the number of examples will become more but for now it […]
Compensation paid to council staff – needlesticks
The consequences of a sharps injury can be grave. Though the incidence of seroconversion is fortunately low there are still many transmission events of HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, […]
Managing drug abuse and associated litter – Australia
Managing IV drug abuse and its associated drug litter is an almost impossible task. Requiring the involvement of many different agencies, the solutions are impossible to identify and in general […]
Sharps bins installed at Occupy London for used hypodermic needles
The City of London Corporation has said that sharp bins have been put in place at the St Paul’s protest camp site after police found drug paraphernalia, including needles, littered […]
Hepatitis B virus infection among medical waste handlers in Addis Ababa
Hepatitis B virus infection among medical waste handlers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is a real problem. In a detailed research paper from that country, the incidence of Hepatitis B was […]
Medical waste contaminating blue bins
Thurrock council uses blue bins for domestic recyclacbles. They have been complaining that “some residents are costing it money buy throwing medical waste in their blue bins” – never mind […]
Oxford drug litter
Just beyond sight of the academic and commercial heart of Oxford, drug abuse has come very dramatically to the surface manifest by many used syringes and needles being discarded under a […]
Compensation for sharps injury
The amount of compensation awarded for a sharps injury varies widely. It seems to make some, but not much, difference if the courts get involved compared with the scale of […]
How not to pick up discarded syringes and needles
Sussex County (US) beaches are still littered with wastes including clinical waste. Though most reports assume that syringes and needles are washed ashore with on the tide there is little evidence […]