Clinical waste and sharps collections
Please be aware that some of our clinical waste collection days are changing from 1st February. Our contractor will write to you in advance to let you know if your usual day is changing from this date.
Clinical waste bags and sharps bins are not collected by the normal household rubbish collection vehicle.
A separate vehicle collects them on a specific round so you have to tell us if you need a clinical waste collection service.
We have two services you can choose from.
Weekly clinical waste collections
If you need weekly collections of bags, sharps bins or both, please register for our weekly clinical waste collection service.
On this service we will leave you the same amount of replacement bags as you ask us to collect.
Please note we will not leave replacement sharps bins, you need to get these from your healthcare provider or pharmacy.
Once your registration has been received, you will be contacted by our Contractor to let you know when to put your clinical waste out.
Register for a weekly clinical waste collection
One off clinical waste collections
If you only need a collection once, or only every now and again rather than every week, please register for our one off clinical waste collection service each time you need us to make a collection.
Please note we will not leave you with a replacement bag on this service and we do not supply replacement sharps bins, you need to get these from your healthcare provider or pharmacy.
Once your registration has been received, you will be contacted by our Contractor so you know when to put your clinical waste out.
Register for a one off clinical waste collection
Other ways to register
The quickest way to register your request is to use one of the two online options above but if you can’t do this online you can either:
- download a PDF form to complete, scan or photograph it and email back to us, or
- ring us on 0300 1234 141
Once your registration has been received, you will be contacted by our Contractor so you know when to put your clinical waste out.
Which container should I use?
The following information is also contained in our guide Clinical Waste in the Home
Black Bag or Tiger bag (yellow with black stripes)
For non-infectious clinical waste including: gloves, aprons, incontinence pads, disposable nappies, dressings, catheter bags, syringes used for food products, nappies, sanitary products, etc.
- If you produce less than a third of a black bag of non-infectious clinical waste per week, you can double wrap it and put it in with your normal household waste.
- If you produce more than a third of a black bag per week of non-infectious clinical waste, you will need to request a clinical waste collection service and use a Tiger Bag.
Orange bag
For infectious clinical waste likely to infect others contaminated with bodily fluids, eg, HIV/Hep B, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Purple bag
For cytotoxic and cytostatic (chemotherapy and hormone treatment) waste. Items that could have been contaminated by toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction, for example, personal protective equipment, (eg, gloves, masks and gowns), syringe bodies and tubing.
Sharps bins
For anything that can puncture the skin and may be contaminated with blood or other bodily fluids, includes: empty medicine bottles, cartridges of insulin, fingerprick lancets and platforms, pen needles, blades, glass ampoules, needles and syringes.
What are the different types of sharps bins?
- Orange label and lid: Infectious sharps waste
- Yellow label and lid: Infectious sharps waste contaminated with medicines
- Purple label and lid: Sharps waste contaminated with Cytotoxic and Cytostatic medicines
Please note that we do not supply new sharps bins - you will need to get these from your healthcare provider or pharmacy.
How do I report a missed clinical collection?
Please visit our Missed Collection page to report online or you can phone us on 0300 1234 141.
Please be aware that some of our clinical waste collection days are changing from 1st February. Our contractor will write to you in advance to let you know if your usual day is changing from this date.
Clinical waste bags and sharps bins are not collected by the normal household rubbish collection vehicle.
Continue readingA separate vehicle collects them on a specific round so you have to tell us if you need a clinical waste collection service.
We have two services you can choose from.
If you need weekly collections of bags, sharps bins or both, please register for our weekly clinical waste collection service.
On this service we will leave you the same amount of replacement bags as you ask us to collect.
Please note we will not leave replacement sharps bins, you need to get these from your healthcare provider or pharmacy.
Once your registration has been received, you will be contacted by our Contractor to let you know when to put your clinical waste out.
If you only need a collection once, or only every now and again rather than every week, please register for our one off clinical waste collection service each time you need us to make a collection.
Please note we will not leave you with a replacement bag on this service and we do not supply replacement sharps bins, you need to get these from your healthcare provider or pharmacy.
Once your registration has been received, you will be contacted by our Contractor so you know when to put your clinical waste out.
The quickest way to register your request is to use one of the two online options above but if you can’t do this online you can either:
- download a PDF form to complete, scan or photograph it and email back to us, or
- ring us on 0300 1234 141
Once your registration has been received, you will be contacted by our Contractor so you know when to put your clinical waste out.
The following information is also contained in our guide Clinical Waste in the Home
Black Bag or Tiger bag (yellow with black stripes)
For non-infectious clinical waste including: gloves, aprons, incontinence pads, disposable nappies, dressings, catheter bags, syringes used for food products, nappies, sanitary products, etc.
- If you produce less than a third of a black bag of non-infectious clinical waste per week, you can double wrap it and put it in with your normal household waste.
- If you produce more than a third of a black bag per week of non-infectious clinical waste, you will need to request a clinical waste collection service and use a Tiger Bag.
Orange bag
For infectious clinical waste likely to infect others contaminated with bodily fluids, eg, HIV/Hep B, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Purple bag
For cytotoxic and cytostatic (chemotherapy and hormone treatment) waste. Items that could have been contaminated by toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction, for example, personal protective equipment, (eg, gloves, masks and gowns), syringe bodies and tubing.
Sharps bins
For anything that can puncture the skin and may be contaminated with blood or other bodily fluids, includes: empty medicine bottles, cartridges of insulin, fingerprick lancets and platforms, pen needles, blades, glass ampoules, needles and syringes.
What are the different types of sharps bins?
- Orange label and lid: Infectious sharps waste
- Yellow label and lid: Infectious sharps waste contaminated with medicines
- Purple label and lid: Sharps waste contaminated with Cytotoxic and Cytostatic medicines
Please note that we do not supply new sharps bins - you will need to get these from your healthcare provider or pharmacy.
Please visit our Missed Collection page to report online or you can phone us on 0300 1234 141.