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Test Strip Disposal

ElyDave

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,087
Location
Ely, Cambs
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I was in Belgium this week and looking at hazardous waste disposal amongst other things. The law there for companies says that you can dispose of small quantities of medical and sanitary waste that is low risk for infection - i.e. no free infectious fluids, all absorbed or dried etc in with standard household type rubbish. That set me thinking about what I do.

To my mind test strips, once dried are negligible risk from an infection and sharps point of view. I've been putting mine in with my sharps for disposal but I'm not sure if I need to?

Cheers

Dave
 
Engineer88 said:
I never have, they always go in houshold waste.
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I have a sharps disposal yellow box, given to me by my surgery, and when its full they dispose of it for me, i wouldnt put anything like tht in the ordinary rubbish,
 
Personal choice really. How far do you take it ? If you blow your nose or discard a band-aid, is that considered a biological hazard ? For me, it's just the sharps that are a hazard really and need careful disposal. Saying that, I have occasionally put old test strips in there but just for convenience.


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The blood is drawn up into the test strip and there's a protective film over the area to avoid contact with the blood...... therefore shouldn't be a health hazard, but if people feel better disposing of them in the sharps bin then that is fine!
 
I should also state that when I'm travelling I tend to collect all my sharps to go in my yellow bin when I get home. If I wasn't doing that with the test trips as well, it would make the job easier.
 
I don't have a sharps bin. I was advised to put my used lancets and strips into a plastic bottle and tape the lid on, then into landfill container. Is this wrong?
 
Who advised you to do that Thommo ? I don't think that's great advice. Have you asked for a sharps container ? I guess you gotta do what you gotta do !


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Think the surgery staff have given you a duff bit of advice on lancet / needle disposal, worth rechecking how to get a sharps bin, it depends on your area on how to get one. My area is direct fro the GP's practice, others get them on prescription and then some get the from the local council.

Test strips I chuck in the sharps bin as its convenient place and my portable sharps bin (old test strip tub) is where I put the used lancets and strips while out and about. Though with the accu check mobile cartridge I chucked that in the norm bin.
 
As a nurse I was always told test strips go in clinical bags but at home they go in household rubbish, sharps bins cost more to destroy than household rubbish so I suppose its the bag for my test strips. :clap:
 
I had never thought about it before but I always wonder how yo dispose of insulin vials. Any ideas? Mike go in household rubbish but would prefer to be more environmentally friendly!

Kat



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SewK8 said:
I had never thought about it before but I always wonder how yo dispose of insulin vials. Any ideas? Mike go in household rubbish but would prefer to be more environmentally friendly!

Kat
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Bottle bank, or recycling collection?
 
That's a bit rubbish as plastic bottkes aren't very robust. Have you ever asked for a sharps bin? They last a while and hold a litre of sharps, strips don't take up any space, mine go in with the sharps, just to be on the safe side.
 
Ely,
when I used to get sharps boxes from the chemist they had info with them (get them through another source now so can't quote it). This clearly stated that bandelettes de sang ( blood glucose strips) had to be put into the box and not domestic rubbish. It quoted both French and EU law. I've never explicitly been told to do that by my doctor or nurse but when in hospital it was normal practice (I had a small individual sharps bin). I have been told to put used cannula and tubing and needle into the bin.
I suspect that the appropriate EU regulation is open to interpretation and is interpreted/enforced differently in the various countries.
 
Sharps, I think, should be looked after & yellow-boxed. This isn't so much from a bio-hazard point of view, but is be annoyed if my fingers were cut to shreds.
(As for the disease "nasties" it's HIV & Hep C, HIV is a really weakling virus, dead when dry. Not sure about Hep C)
I whizz my test strips in any old bin, my blood-testing is with Accu-chek multi clix - so is enclosed in its own "safe" container - whizz in the bin. That leaves needles which go in a yellow box. Takes me about 2-3 yrs to fill a 1 l sharps box.
 
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