• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Disposing of Sharps Bins

W

wilsonP

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I have an Animas Pump and I get sharps bins sent to me by Animas. My doctor used to take the sharps bins off me when I had filled them up. More than a year ago he refused to take them off me any more. The pharmacy where I collect my prescriptions also refuse to take them off me. Animas will not take them off me either. My local council (Salrord) will only take them off me if I pay to have them removed.
I am building up quite a collection of sharps bins now. I have 11 in the house, at the moment. They are cluttering up the house and I want rid of them. I was wondering how other people disposed of their sharps bins?
 
My doctors will only collect sharps bins they prescribe. As I get my prescriptions free, I get them to prescribe them and drop them off at reception when full. Not too much of a bother. Would your hospital diabetes team be able to help with your full ones in the meantime? If not, maybe get a load of bins from the GP prescribed and empty your full ones in? If they are all your own sharps the risk should be lower than if it was mixed sharps. If it was mixed from you and someone else then I wouldn't decant.
 

How much do your council charge, and is it per bin, or per collection?
 
My sharps bins are part of my free prescription (on the NHS renew it every 5 years card thing). The local council collect them free, I just book on line when there are more than 3. Looks like i'm luckier than I realised.
 
Your local nhs does a needle exchange centre and they will take them off you and that is for free and you will have to get the phone number from the phone directory but I used to have to do it like that for a couple of years until I get mine on prescription from the gp and that is a great deal better for me than having to pay for it or using a needle exchange centre but they are there for drug use to get needles but they take in full needle boxes from you any time
 

Its a crazy system I was given a sharp's box for my lancets took over a year to fill ( it was a small neat sharps box ) I took it to the pharmacy who gave it to me, they wouldn't accept it , they told me to take it to dr's who in turn told me they didn't accept them and gave me a number to ring to arrange collection . The number was a Leeds based one ( I live in Cardiff ) and they arranged for it to be collected by Cardiff and the Vale nhs ! . The replacement box they gave me is huge and obviously for someone using injections etc , no use to me at all would take about 10 yrs for me to fill lol.
 
Hi just phone you're local councils waste disposal department and tell them you have a number of sharps bins that need collecting as far as I'm aware they will collect and dispose of them for free i have been on this system with my council for about 10yrs can't be sure but give it a go good luck
 
I am just approaching my two year diagnosis and I have two years worth of sharps bins. It's ridiculous, I've complained time and time again, my GP wouldnt take them but since I put a letter of complaint in to the council have now agreed to take one a week 'if they have capacity', well that's not getting rid of my backlog! hospital won't, council won't, pharmacy won't.
I have two bin liners full. I'm now on a pump but I'll still use a sharps box for my cannula needle so I guess I'll never be rid of the things.
 
Are you deconstructing the plastic for the vibe inserters? When I change my set for the vibe, I take a pair of pliers. and pull the needle out of the inserter, put the needle into the sharps bin, and recycle the inserter. I also place the insulin needle into sharps bin, after removing and recycling the lid. If I fill my 1 litre sharps bin within the next 10-15 years, I'll be very surprised!
 
Council also collect mine for free (they use phs) - they leave me a new one when they collect the old one. Your council should have a waste disposal system through the local council. Hope so - don't think you should have to pay
 
wilsonP said:
I have an Animas Pump and I get sharps bins sent to me by Animas. My doctor used to take the sharps bins off me when I had filled them up. More than a year ago he refused to take them off me any more.
Click to expand...

Assuming your Dr's surgery have refused to take the sharps bin off you because they don't prescribe it anymore, if this is the case then the easiest solution is to get your sharp bins back on prescription at your Dr's and tell Animas that you don't want them sent out to you anymore.

It's only a sharps bin and at the end of the day and it doesn't matter who you get one from.
 

I will ask my doctor if I can order sharps bins off him, when my current one is full.
 



I will ask doctor to supply my bins in future.
 
AndBreathe said:
How much do your council charge, and is it per bin, or per collection?
Click to expand...


Not sure how much council charge. I will ask them. Think I will get my doctor to prescribe bins for me in future. They will have to take them off me then.
 
Why dont u ask in waste disposal specialists? They will provide u full support in bins removal services. But i dont sure about pricing, maybe council services will be cheaper.
 
My GP supplies the sharps bin via a prescription and the council pick them up. I book the pick up online and tell them where I have hidden the sharps box so they know where to find it as I don't like leaving it in the kerb.
 
The trouble is your trying to be responsible. It seems to me that dumping needles on the street works instantly.
Ever considered gluing the boxes into a sculpture and sending them to the tate modern, you may win a prize and at the very least highlight the problem to the powers that be.
 
Thankfully, my council.collect mine.
And like @paulliljeros suggests, I pull out the sharp from the cannula applicator.
However, at the time I started to get sharps but my partner decided he would use safety razors so my bins are starting to fill with razors. I have no idea what he'd do with them if I didn't have my bins.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…