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Sharps bin

Jade-1990

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
My sharps bin that I got from the hospital after diagnosis is now nearly full, I was just after some advice as to how and where people take them to dispose of and how to get new ones? Do I need to go to my doctors surgery or can I take it to my pharmacy to replace it? Any advice is helpful and appreciated
 
Hi Jade

I was given a letter from my DSN which I took to the chemist and they gave me a sharps bin. I now take fills bins back to the chemist and swap it for an empty. It may work differently in your area.

Hope things are going ok since diagnosis
 
Depends on the area. I had to get my doctor to contact the council, then I tell the council when I need a new one and a private firm comes and collects/replaces.
 
In my area although my local chemist does sell them, they can't dispose of them so I take mine along to my doctors (which is only a 4 min walk from home anyway so is convenient) and the docs replaced it for me.
 
I swap mine at my GP surgery - they gave me a large one which I keep next to the bin so only needs doing about once a year.
 
I just phone my council and they collect it, early in the morning from outside my house.
Seems a little word as this means I have to put a box of sharps on the pavement overnight. When I expressed my concern, they told me it was not my responsibilty once it left my house which was weird.
 
never gpt a sharps bin as my local council stopped giving them out like candy, they say its a waste of resources and my gp also doesnt help me the slightest so I show them a sign of not caring by just throwing the sharps in the green waste bin, gets incinerated anyway so i dont see the problem there
 
B&D Safeclip, available on prescription, clips and stores the needle ends, collects hundreds and the pharmacy says ok for landfill.
 
I've never had a sharps bin. Nobody ever gave me one when I was diagnosed and by the t9ime I was old enough to realise I should really have one it became a little awkward to ask.
I've always just put them in my bin at home which for a straight into the wheelie bin.
Might be wrong but whoops. X
 
I had never even heard of the concept until I came across this forum, I've always just thrown them away next to all the other plastic, much like @**shell** does.
 
I left hospital with a small one and was then issued one on prescription with the advice to take my full ones back to the pharmacy, I think my prescription is one a month.
 
I get my sharps bins on prescription and the council take the full ones away..I book a collection online once there are more than 3 (I usually keep them until there's a dozen,ish). I know its different in other areas.
 
Never had a sharps box, have always been prescribed needle clippers so no need for them.
 
Think I might go back to using a BD Safeclip. Trying to book a sharps collection by phoning the council is becoming a real nuisance, even if I phone first thing in the morning.
 
I bought my own bins, and printed off a council collection form which my DN signed. I will wait until I have a few before asking for a collection as it seems a waste of resources to get one 6 inch bin picked up!
 
I phone the council, they collect the full ones and leave replacements. I'm on a pump so it fills up quickly. The council usually leaves a couple.
 
BD SafeClip is great if you're using syringes, but if you're using pens or filling a pump reservoir from a vial there's a bit of needle the safeclip can't get to. You can still stab yourself on this sharp point, so a bright yellow monstrosity becomes necessary.

To make it worse, the 'small' version my pharmacy supplies (1litre) doesn't have an opening wide enough for my infusion set to go through, so I get the 7 litre large. It's bright yellow AND huge. They never look too happy to see them come back either.
 
You could simply stuff a bit of tissue into the recess at the back over the sharp end but as it's up inside the plastic why stick your finger up there anyway.
 
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