In most areas of the country it is illegal to dispose of needles by simply throwing them in the normal trash as there are serious concerns about the transmission of disease. A needlestick injury can easily subject a person to serious infection which ten results in the individual having to undertake a series of tests and preventative medicines, all of which can be an unnecessary cost. Anyone who uses a needle must take precautions to dispose of it in a safe and proper manner hence there are sharps containers available as well as collection centers and a sharps mail back program.
For those who only have to use needles for a short period of time, this may be something as simple as managing a series of injections for your pet, taking the used sharp to a collection center is a good method of disposal. Once the course of injections has been completed the used needles can be dropped off at a local hospital or even drug store. If this is the case, it would be wise to call in advance and confirm that the facility offers this service and what hours are available for drop off.
Perhaps the best way is to use a sharps container. A sharps container is suitable for use in a doctor’s office, clinic; tattoo parlor or at home where there is a resident who is diabetic and has to inject insulin. These containers are made from a heavy, durable plastic which will not allow a needle to puncture the wall, posing a potential hazard for anyone in the area. The containers are usually red and well marked as something which contains a bio-hazard. When a sharps container has reached its capacity, the user can take advantage of a sharps mail back program where a service company takes the full responsibility for safe destruction.
In large facilities such as hospitals they often have the equipment on-site to destroy the sharps. The machine that is used destroys the needle and then subjects it to high heat which kills any residual bacteria or organisms. Once the needle has gone through this process it can be disposed of as normal waste. It is quite obvious that only the largest medical facilities can afford this type of sharps disposal.
Sharps Assure offer a sharps mail back program. This program is ideal for small clinics, doctors offices and for the home and is complete with inner and outer packaging material, shipping label and a certificate of destruction.
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