Medical Waste Disposal Quote
Kevin Noel
What Happens to Used Needles?
Needles, syringes, and other sharps waste are a common byproduct of most healthcare procedures, but what happens to the used sharps?
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Key Takeaways
Used needles are disposed of similarly to other types of medical waste. Once the needle is used, it is placed into a sharps container, collected by a medical waste disposal company, treated using an approved treatment method, and disposed of once deemed harmless.
Read along to follow the needle disposal process.
Storage of Used Needles
After a needle or sharps device is used in a medical procedure or becomes contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious materials, it is placed inside of a sharps disposal container.
Sharps containers are rigid, leak-proof containers designed to ensure that used sharps don’t cause a sharps injury after use.
According to the CDC, 40% of needlestick injuries occur after use but before disposal.
By placing sharps directly into a sharps container after use - which is rigid and sealable, you drastically decrease the chance of injury after use.
Once all sharps are properly contained in a sharps container, the container can be placed into a biohazard bin until a medical waste disposal company collects the waste.
Collection of Needles and other Sharps Waste
Medical practices can either have their sharps containers picked up or mail away their containers for treatment.
Typically, mail away is a more affordable option if you generate a very small amount of sharp waste.
Most facilities have a medical waste disposal company physically pickup their containers and haul them away for treatment.
Treatment of Sharps Waste at a Treatment Facility
Once your medical waste disposal service collects your sharps containers or you mail them away, they are transported to a treatment center for disposal.
The point of the treatment is to properly disinfect or sterilize the waste of any infectious materials so that the waste is safe for disposal. Once treatment is done, the sharps waste can be rendered non-infectious.
Needles and syringes, and other sharps waste, are then treated using an approved medical waste treatment method.
Sharps are typically treated using an autoclave or incinerator. Once sharps are properly sterilized of infectious materials, they can be disposed of like regular waste without worries of transmission of dangerous pathogens.
Waste Manifests for Sharps Waste Disposal
After medical waste has been completely disposed of, the medical waste generator will receive their waste manifest and destruction records.
These records are proof that the needles and other biohazardous materials generated by your facility were properly treated, something known as medical waste tracking.
What happens to medical waste varies slightly based on the type of waste generated, but the process is similar.
It is generated, segregated, stored, collected, transported, treated, and disposed of.
We used to use a National Company but they just kept jacking our fees up all the time. We switched to Eco Medical Waste and they cut our invoices in half.
Eco Medical Waste is always professional and timely. We appreciate their business and services.
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We offer medical waste disposal and management in all of California. Eco Medical was founded in far Northern California and has rapidly expanded to cover the entirety of California.
