COMMUNITY CARE TRUST (SOUTH WEST) LTD
WASTE DISPOSAL
POLICY No HS009
POLICY SUMMARY
Waste disposal is governed by the Environmental Protection Act (DOE 1990).
Good waste management is important within healthcare establishments to:
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Reduce the health and safety risk to staff, people using services and visitors
from waste
Protect the environment
Reduce waste disposal costs
Ensure that you and your employer comply with environmental legislation.
Regulations for safe waste disposal
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All waste must be properly segregated, labelled, stored, transported and
disposed of in accordance with expert guidance.
A colour coding system should be used to separate waste.
Any waste that may be infectious, toxic or otherwise hazardous is known as
clinical waste.
When bags are approximately ¾ full they should be securely sealed.
Overfilled bags tend to break open during transport.
Hold the neck of the waste bag to carry it.
All vehicles / containers used to transport waste should be washed daily.
It is essential to adhere to local policies and guidelines.
Policy includes
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Segregation of waste
Staff training
Staff protection
Handling of waste
Spillage of waste
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Refer to table below:
Type of Waste
Disposal
Domestic waste
Black Plastic bags. Do not overfill bags.
including household rubbish, flowers,
paper hand towels, tissues, clean
paper, plastic waste, etc
Tie at neck.
Kitchen waste including food
Destroy on day of preparation using waste
disposal for compost able products
Confidential paper waste.
Confidential paper waste – shredded
Label bag with source.
Remove for landfill collection.
Remove for recycling
All clinical waste
including used dressings, gloves,
sanitary items, catheter and stoma
bags, nappies, Fouled / infected inco
pads
Yellow plastic clinical waste bags for
incineration.
Seal bags when no more than ¾ full. Ensure
secure sealing. Heavy gauge or double bagging
is required for infected waste with each bag
individually sealed.
Each bag must be labelled to identify its source
All sharps
Including: syringes and needles glass
ampoules, stitch cutters, scalpel
blades, disposable razors, small
contaminated glass items, broken or
requiring disposal.
Sharps boxes for incineration – only boxes
complying with the current British Standard
must be used. Seal boxes when no more than
2/3 full. Lock boxes before removal from the
point of use. Do not tape lid to seal boxes.
Glass bottles, broken domestic glass
and crockery, used aerosol cans and
batteries
Strong designated cardboard boxes
Pharmaceutical waste
Special waste regulations (1996) and Misuse of
Drugs regulations may apply. Do not discharge
to sewers. Local collection arrangements (e.g.
via pharmacy)
e.g. prescription only medicines,
drugs or other pharmaceutical
products
Aerosol cans and batteries will explode if sent
for incineration
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Staff training
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It is the Responsible Manager’s responsibility to ensure that all staff understand and
comply with the CCT’s Waste Disposal Policy
All staff who are required to handle waste should have training
Staff protection
Staff should:
 wear protective clothing and dispose of it correctly
 have Hepatitis B and tetanus vaccination
Handling of waste
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ensure that the different types of waste are placed in the appropriate containers
always use a foot pedal to open clinical waste bins
never put a yellow bag inside a black bag and vice versa
never put your hands inside any waste bag or container
no waste bags should be compressed by staff
all waste bags should be handled with care, by the neck – never clasped against the
body and never thrown or dropped
ensure that clinical waste bags are not split or punctured in any way – if they are, rebag in the corresponding coloured bag and re-label
any bag containing large amounts of fluids should be double bagged to reduce the
risk of spillage and leaks
Spillage of waste
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All spillage must be regarded as potentially hazardous and dealt with immediately
Under no circumstances should members of the public be allowed to assist or be
involved in any way in the cleaning up of the spillage
Date of last review:
Version number:
Date of next review:
October 2014
02
October 2017
Signature …………………………………
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