Real penalties for waste violations?
Almost every familiy physician in the US operates independently, either as a basic GP of with some particular specialty. Many off additional surgeries from minor to quite major treatments in […]
danger
Clinical wastes at the heart of the community #2
Another day, and another part of the Borough. This time, sanitary/offensive wastes in a Tiger stripe bag and one plain yellow bag sit on the pavement! Presumably left to await collection […]
Discarded needles stir worries
“In March, a Lynn elementary school student tried to give himself a pretend flu shot with a hypodermic needle he found on the street. Last month, a couple of syringes […]
Waste security?
Tiger stripe bags left outside a London branch of Boots the Chemist in the early morning of 21st April were not only still there today, 26th April, a full 4 […]
Tiger stripe waste on the streets of London
In a scene that will be repeated across London every day, Tiger stripe bags of waste are left on a busy London pavement without a care for safety or security, […]
Medical wastes for sale
The Clinical Waste Discussion Forum has repeatedly commented on the risks associated with and underlying causes of a deadly trade in used items of clinical (medical) waste. Last updated: Wednesday, […]
DIY Tattoo risks
DIY tattoo kits are advertised extensively on the internet and there is evidence that many such kits, mainly originating from China, are being supplied in the UK. Last updated: Tuesday, […]
Man charged after biohazard found in trash bin
A place for everything, and everything in it’s place! “A 44-year-old man was accused of illegally disposing of medical waste after employees of a Cocoa business found blood and body […]
Collecting spilled clinical waste
Collecting spilled or misplaced clinical wastes that may arise somewhere between producer and waste management contractor – perhaps that stray yellow or orange sack sitting on the highway forelornely awaiting collection, the bag blown […]
Mother Earth fails to protect
A facility that purports to help the environment by recycling could really be hurting it. The US Environmental Protection Agency has a ‘laundry list’ of concerns with the Mother Earth Recycling Center […]
Needlestick infections
There is widespread misconception that sharps or needlestick infections are associated only with the bloodborne virus Hepatitis B and HIV, and that since no such infections have been recorded among waste […]
8 months for pet crematorium scam
“A woman who ran a pet crematorium in Derbyshire has been jailed for eight months for dumping the bodies of her customers’ pets in a field. Last updated: Thursday, October […]
Work-related sharps injury
There are several legal and paralegal firms in the UK now getting wise to the high rate of sharps injury to healthcare professionals and others. They offer low-cost or no-win […]
Creating hazards
I am astonished to find an [apparently] UK website offering balers for the compaction of clinical wastes! http://www.ukwastesolutions.info/ offer balers for clinical wastes from dentists, chiropadists [sic], veterinary surgeries, medical centres and […]
Plastics recovered from clinical wastes
Hard plastics and non-woven polypropylene comprise anything up to 30% by weight of most UK clinical wastes. Much of that might be recovered for re-use, generally as low value mixed […]
Sharps injuries in the recycling industries
We tend to thing of sharps injury as a hazard largely particular to healthcare professionals and the clinical waste sector but there are ongoing problems in the recycling industries and […]
Risk management in waste segregation
Several groups have published on the gains that can be made through more detailed source segregation of wastes. Sadly, the message has generally been overstated by an insistence of a degree […]
Two injured in Sterecycle plant ‘explosion’
Two people are injured after an “explosion” at Sterecycle’s CHP Rotherham plant. Last updated: Monday, October 26, 2015
Clinical waste management – a target for protesters?
Clinical waste management companies frequently see themselves as potential targets for protesters. Resistance to planning and licensing applications, and subsequently a stream of complaints about, well, about just about everything. […]
Needle risk hidden in snow, sand, grass
As we in the UK continue to suffer with bad weather, it is reported that a man from Manly, Australia, will have to wait six months to learn if he has contracted […]
Needlestick insurance
Needlestick insurance is becoming big business in the US. Last updated: Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Fire in clinical waste store
“Civil Defense put into effect the emergency evacuation plan of a Jeddah hospital when a fire tore through its nearby medical waste warehouse early Sunday morning, authorities said. Last updated: […]
3 year old girl suffers sharps injury
“A mother has told how her 3-year-old daughter pricked her finger in a container of used flu vaccine syringes at a pharmacy Last updated: Saturday, December 15, 2018
Weather woes – planning for climate change
The current extreme weather affecting the UK creates all sorts of problems with increasing demands on UK national and local infrastructure. Moreover, it prompts once more for close attention to […]
Contract terms for healthcare ancillary staff
Hospital ancillary and support staff may be NHS employees, or increasingly employed by specialist support services companies. This latter, and now very common, arrangement creates many problems usually due to […]
Where have all the needles gone?
Data for Western Australia shows that, through needles and syringe programs (NSPs) around 3.5 million needles & syringes are distributed annually. Most of these are distributed to IV drug users […]
Waste industry operator safety
I have recently proposed, via the CIWM Health & Safety Special Interest Group (SIG), production of a series of leaflets to cover a range of key risks and approaches to injury […]
Vehicle accidents
A truck carrying medical waste rolled over on Route 4 in Torrington at Pothier Road, Connecticut, on Friday 10 December. Last updated: Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Dangerous medical waste factory to move
“The Jeddah Mayoralty has approved the relocation of a Medical Materials Recycling Factory located in eastern Jeddah to a new Industrial Waste Factory in Bahra Area. The factory has been […]