Clinical waste bag ties
We at the Clinical Waste Discussion Forum and at Blenkharn Environmental have always promoted the use of cable ties to fasten clinical and other healthcare waste sacks. Toothed or serrated […]
security
Distraught child finds needles on seat of Melbourne tram
A young girl was reportedly “distraught” after finding syringes on her seat on a Melbourne tram seat, according to a witness. The needles were concealed on her seat, according to […]
US Hospital pays $10,000 fine in hazardous waste case
“St. Elizabeth Hospital in Belleville, Illinois is to pay a $10,000 state fine for allegedly failing to properly store hazardous waste and for other violations. “The fine stems from an inspection of […]
Is that sharps bin in a safe place?
Sharps bins contain dangerous items, as those suffering the shock and trauma, and possibly the consequences of a sharps injury will attest. But sometimes, we manage to make it worse, placing […]
Child stuck by needle at playground
A mother makes a shocking discovery in the playground at Burger King on Buena Vista Road in Columbus, Georgia. She said her son was stuck with a needle at the end of […]
Detroit warehouse fire engulfs clinical wastes
A burning Detroit warehouse filled with medical (clinical) waste has been linked to medical problems in those living nearby. With dramatic footage of the fire, reports that the warehouse held […]
Drug litter – ‘activists’ fight back
Discarded needles and other drug use and injection paraphernalia is a widespread problem, of immediate safety and wider public concern. Approaches to management of this problem includes the obvious, that […]
Kirklees Council 0/10 for clinical waste services
A Batley pensioner is struggling to have her used diabetic needles collected. Describing her ‘nightmare’ to the local press with fears about the accumulation of sharps boxes in her home [presumably, […]
Accusations of healthcare waste dumping on old Braintree hospital site
Accusations have been raised of healthcare waste dumping on old Braintree hospital site. “According to a nearby resident (how does he know?), dumped healthcare wastes are still buried on a […]
Sanctions and penalties for unsafe sharps disposal
There have been mutterings recently from the Scottish Parliament of sanctions to be held against healthcare professionals – doctors were singled out but this presumably embraces all – who fail on […]
Braintree mum’s disgust over needle find in park
A Braintree mum is disgusted after finding a discarded needle in a county park. She was taking a walk around the lakes at Great Notley Country Park, popular with young families, […]
Police error returns heroin needle to family
“An Ammanford couple have been left furious after they discovered a used, dirty needle containing what appeared to be a solution of heroin in a bag handed to them by Dyfed-Powys Police. […]
Luton park needle finds
A mother is horrified about drugs paraphernalia she found left in parks and open spaces in Luton where she takes her two-year-old son to play. Vikki Hardy, 28, discovered litter including used […]
How safe are drugs waste while in your charge?
All clinical waste companies will receive pharmaceutical wastes in either small amount of larger quantities if serving hospitals offering a extensive pharmacy and drug manufacture/formulation services. Drug waste may be […]
US: Clinical waste containers fall from truck
In the early hours of Thursday morning, State and local Henrico County Police were called to a scene on Interstate 64 eastbound near the 195 mile marker in Henrico County. Virginia. […]
Patient confidentiality & recycling
The NHS is going green, slightly, in small, slow steps, but it IS going green. Many items are reused when it is safe to do so, with expensive disposables side lined […]
‘Sharps’ injury is as traumatic as car crash
The psychiatric distress caused by having a ‘sharps’ injury is consistent with being in a car crash, a study has revealed. Published in the journal Occupational Medicine, the study explored […]
Pharmaceutical residues from clinical wastes?
Regulators and those who follow on their every word continue to be exercised by the question of pharmaceutical residues from clinical wastes. Of course, bulk pharmaceutical wastes from the pharmacy department or […]
No to compensation for childrens’ sharps injuries
“Two children, aged three and four when they suffered “needlestick” injuries while playing in a rubbish-strewn park, have each lost €38,000 damages claims against a local authority. “Judge Matthew Deery […]
Clinical waste left on Northampton street for weeks
Ironically situated almost underneath the noses of CIWM headquarters, it is reported that clinical waste has been left on Northampton street for weeks. “The family of a 97-year-old woman have had to […]
NHS failures in safe transport of sharps – Community care services
The Department of Health has issued an Estates and Facilities Alert (ref EFA/2013/001) concerning ‘Sharps and sharps containers transported in staff vehicles‘. It follows exposed or inadequately protected sharps left […]
Why so much paper?
Many sacks of clinical waste contain substantial amounts of paper waste. Some of it is secondary wrappings from sterile items and I have not problem with that, since separation is […]
Improving clinical waste disposal practice
How do we improve clinical waste disposal practice? The answer to this question is not so easy. There is the hugely bloated HTM 07-01 that seeks to instruct but not inform, […]
Radioactive clinical waste spill
Sometimes, when it rains it pours and yes, it does get worse. A tractor-trailer hauling radioactive clinical (medical) waste crashed last Saturday, closing a portion of Nebraska Highway 2. The […]
US clinical waste van stolen
Topeka (Kansas) police are investigating the theft of a van carrying bio-medical waste materials. Police were called to 3520 West 6th Friday morning on the theft. Through an electronic tracking app, […]
Waste drug theft did not pay
The last of four co-defendants was sentenced Monday to a year in federal custody for his role in a conspiracy to intercept and resell prescription painkillers slated for destruction as […]
More bizarre waste theft
“As Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the capital city’s premier government hospital, completes inquiry into the recent theft of scores of discarded blood bags on its premises, heads are […]
Theft of drugs
We have many times reported on the theft of sharps bins for the drug waste that they contain, and on cases where healthcare staff and waste handlers had targeted these […]
Theft of sharps bin from hospital
“A young woman stole a sharps box from Hackettstown Regional Medical Center and removed needles and medications from it, police said. “On Aug 24 at about 4:53 am police were […]
Plastics recycling from healthcare wastes
The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC) has finalized an agreement with Stanford University Medical Center to begin a six-month pilot study to develop a better understanding of plastic waste characterization within healthcare facilities. […]