Travis County Folk --

[alfreda89]

Does anyone happen to know the procedure for disposing of medical waste? The needles are in a red bio box, but the syringes are all in jars. They contained antibiotic, but don't know if they also need a bio box.

The sections of the web site I can find with Google are not helpful, except to tell me that Hazardous Waste doesn't take household bio waste.

This suggests that households toss it in the regular trash. I'm sure the guys running the trucks are thrilled.

I am so glad I don't need this info anymore after disposing of this stuff.

Comments

[originalkitsune.livejournal.com]

Yes you can dispose of antibiotic without sharp bits in regular trash. Your other option is to call a drug store like CVS and talk to their pharmacy and see what they suggest.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Peoples said a few years ago that they could not take back syringes anymore. So -- the bio boxes are much heavier than regular plastic. Perhaps they just go in the trash.

[wordslinger.livejournal.com]

Call the city garbage dump and ask them.

[aishabintjamil.livejournal.com]

This assumes that no significantly contagious diseases (AIDS, hepatitis, etc.) are involved. If that's not the case, the doctor's office who prescribed the meds is probably the best place to ask questions about safe and appropriate disposal.

You want to segregate your sharps (needles, etc.) into a solid container, which I assume is what you mean by a bio box. The key is to insure that they won't accidentally escape from your trash and/or puncture someone who is loading the trash into the truck during pickup. For things like insulin syringes, my town in NH says to put them into a sealable plastic container, and tape the lid on. We have a diabetic cat, and another getting subcutaneous fluid therapy, which also involves needles, so I've needed to research this.

Syringes without needles that once contained medication should be fine in regular trash. You might consider finding an opaque plastic container with a lid and packing them in there, just to avoid anyone seeing it in the trash and becoming unnecessarily concerned. The residue left after the dose is delivered is minimal, and generally landfills are well equipped these days to insure that stuff doesn't seep out of them into the environment. The trash is actually a better place to dispose of excess medication than flushing it down the toilet.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

The taping the lid on I might have forgotten, thank you! This was for IM shots of penicillin family drug, so I simply don't want anyone to bump the used needles. Yes, it's one of those red extremely heavy plastic boxes.

Thanks for your input. I'll see if I have anything opaque to use for the syringes.

[romsfuulynn.livejournal.com]

Old style sharps - put them in a coffee can. Wrap with duct tape. Put in regular trash.

If you want to be extra considerate, put a bigger coffee can over the smaller coffee can (other way over) and then do the wrap with duct tape.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Hummmm...no coffee cans here. They're in a bio box now, with the plastic snaps lids back on 99% of them. Mine and the cat's (he had saline hydration.) I have duct tape around here somewhere, so I'll dig it out!

Thanks --

[sheilagh.livejournal.com]

if you had time, there's sharps disposal boxes in the restrooms at the convention center. totally wild :)

[ramblin-phyl.livejournal.com]

For my insulin needles, I get a big red container from my garbage hauler. They charge me $10 per container (about every 6 months with those little teen tiny pen needles) to dispose of them.

Your local fire house or med clinic would have local information as well.