Syringes, needles and sharps bins

How to dispose of syringes, needles and sharps bins

Please do not under any circumstances put syringes, needles or sharps bins in any of your household waste bins.

If a full sharps bin is put in a household waste bin it gets damaged in the mechanical process, exposing the dangerous contents, causing danger to our staff. We need to reduce the number of dangerous items which are being put in the waste and recycling bins to make it safer for our collection crews and our teams who are hand sorting our materials recycling facility.

You should only use a sharps bin to dispose of used syringes, needles or sharps, but please note they cannot be collected at the kerbside.

The sharps bin is a specially designed rigid box with a lid which is available on prescription (FP10 prescription form) from your GP.

When the sharps bin is full, it should be returned to your provider or alternatively it can be taken to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre where it will be disposed of properly. Only fill the bin up to where it says "Do not fill above this line".

You must not put used needles or other sharps in any of your household waste bins or any other general refuse or street litter bin even if it is in a container that's no longer needed, such as a drinks can or bottle.

Needles can cause serious injuries and can carry blood-borne viruses such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C that may be passed on to other people.

Please make sure you dispose of them properly and help keep everyone safe.

For the medical profession, clinics, nursing homes, dentists and vets, we offer a safe solution to handling, transportation and disposal of infectious waste. For a small charge they can be collected by using our Clinical Waste service.