Andy G. Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 During a hospital appointment yesterday I was watching the nursing staff dutifully disposing of needles and other dangerous items into dedicated '' SHARPS DISPOSAL'' tubs which are then incinerated. We as a hobby group must dispose of thousands of blades each year, especially now that many of use materials where fresh sharp blades are critical. So, how in this H&S aware world do others get rid of these items safely? Personally I put my old blade back into the paper wrapper from the new one the use masking tape to fix it to a pice of scrap balsa or depron before throwing it away. So far no binmen with bleeding (or worse) fingers have banged on my door so I guess it works. 😇 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plummet Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I use an old paste jar eg Shiphams salmon paste (Other brands and flavours are available.) I cut a slot in the cap and put it back on the empty (washed) jar. Blunt and broken blades, bent pins and the like can be posted through the slot. A bit of tape over the full jar makes it safe to dispose of. Plummet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowerman Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I put blunted blades bent pins etc in an old cod liver oil capsule container. any left over epoxy is also put in and keeps them all held in for safe disposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I use the same system as Plummet, a jam jar with a slot in the lid. I suspect that part of the problme in hospitals is that the sharps may be contaminated with blood etc Just in passing. A few years ago I had to have a injured finger treated in A&E. A tiny artery would not stop bleeding. They opened a packet of instruments which included two heamostats or forceps, a pair of scissors and a pair of tweezers. After they have finish treating the injury thay asked if I would like the instruments as they could not used again. They are very handy in my tool box thanks! Edited By Peter Miller on 21/05/2015 09:03:52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 SLEC sell a blade remover and safety box combined it's not on their website but they were selling them at the Thames Valley Show. **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I also use a small jar with a slot cut in the lid for used blades. I gave the jar to my wife to take to our local waste diposal depot and she brought the empty jar back because they had a place to recycle the blades safely. We're both keen on trying to limit our waste as well as trying to recycle as much as possible and our local tip seems to do a really good job with helpful staff. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spice Cat Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Posted this sometime ago. Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Goule Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I don't belive there to be any H&S risks , as peter has said they are not contaminated in any way so there should be no issue just disposing them in a bin? I for one just put them in a bin when I am finished with them. Am I doing wrong here? if so I will begin to dispose of them the correct way. Morgan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I think the issue is more of a possible injury to the bin person (We have a woman refuse collector so "binman" doesn't apply), although they generally don't handle the waste so it's fairly safe to dispoe of in the general waste. I am fairly lucky as I put my sharps in the bins at work. Well, I got them from there, might as well return them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy G. Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 Posted by Morgan Goule on 21/05/2015 12:34:21: I don't belive there to be any H&S risks , as peter has said they are not contaminated in any way so there should be no issue just disposing them in a bin? I for one just put them in a bin when I am finished with them. Am I doing wrong here? if so I will begin to dispose of them the correct way. Morgan There's no real 'contamination' risk, ( it was the fact that it was my hospital visit that prompted me to post this thread) just the risk of somebody in the waste disposal chain getting a severe laceration from an old blade, no real difference to how any of us would treat putting broken glass into our bins really.. Edited By Andy G. on 21/05/2015 12:54:06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Mark Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 My day job is beef farming so I end up with a lot of used hypodermic needle's that I must dispose in a sharps bin, as required by the various Farm Assurance scheme's we all have joined. I sourched my sharps bin from our local vet, and I believe the cost of its disposal is included in its purchase price. A small bin would last the average modeler many years, and would remove the risk to both bin bag persons and the user! A Google search will reveal if you can buy online! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtom39 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I used to wrap tissue and tape around mine before disposing of the blades in the bin. Following a visit to our new local recycling centre , I changed over to the jam jar and slot in lid method and that has worked very well . I took a full jar (11 months worth of No 11, 26 , Stanley blades etc ). The recycling centre were happy with this. On the matter of "contamination risk" We have bin collections every two weeks and (if and when the weather improves!) There is quite a mix of bacteria and chemicals merrily bubbling away in the bins and I would hate to be the one to be cut by a sharp object that's come in contact with any bio hazardous material. Case of using ones common sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiltshire Flyer Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I use the plastic container they come in, save a few and then as I empty one I fill the other with used blades. Tape it up and in the bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Posted by James Mark on 21/05/2015 13:11:12: My day job is beef farming so I end up with a lot of used hypodermic needle's that I must dispose in a sharps bin, as required by the various Farm Assurance scheme's we all have joined. I sourched my sharps bin from our local vet, and I believe the cost of its disposal is included in its purchase price. A small bin would last the average modeler many years, and would remove the risk to both bin bag persons and the user! A Google search will reveal if you can buy online! The problem is what to do with a full sharps bin. Modellers would use several scalpels in each build but the space that would take up would fit in a tablespoon, so filling a shartps bin could, potentially, take years. We cannot accept personal sharps bins in any of the Medical Centres I have worked at as the contractor is paid for the amount of bins and, more importantly in this case, the type of bins. If that specific type of bin is not in the contract the carriers will charge stupid amounts of money. If you get a sharps bin from a Practice by the time it is full and ready for disposal the contract would probably have changed a couple of times over by then leaving you with a problematic issue. You can't chuck it in the general waste either as the sharps bin is classified as clincal waste so you've now got an even larger problem. Much easier to avoid the potential issue in the first place and just put it in the general waste bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Both Morgan and Andy, understand the significant differences between a hospital environment and the normal healthy domestic home environment. In the hospital environment, the disposal of papers, tissues, bandages etc there are many potential health issues with respect to disposal. Sensible people will consider the issues and risks of disposing of domestic tissues, plasters and other similar items. Can they go and should they go via the conventional standard waste disposal route? The same is true for any sharp object in the household, be it metalic, glass or ceramic etc, In a age where most items are consigned to a hard bin system, not being handled directly by a human, the issues in most instances are vanishingly small. Would any sensible person once having considered their specific circumstances treat the waste as anything other than standard domestic waste, certainly for the vast majority, their circumstances are significantly different to the health sector, to the extent that there is no sensible comparison. There is no need to try and manufacture issues, there are many real enough in our homes, which we happily ignore, from gardening, storing and preparation of food, or even just going up and downstairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I have a large bag of Swann Morton blade removers. Safe and secure for the bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Pond Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I wrap them in gaffa tape and put in the bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I use a lot of blades, in work and in modelling (in fact that was partly what got me back into aeromodelling, because I used to buy my blades in boxes of 100 from the model shop, before I ever got a model kit from there). The used blades go into a clear container wth a slot in the top, that used to store cotton buds and blades are so small and compact that one small box holds many thousands of blades. When it gets anywhere near to full, I put a wrap of tape around it and start a new one. I don;t recall having had to do that more than a few times. With the best intentions I imagine that one day I'll resharpen some. It hasn't happened in thirty plus years though. For disposal of smaller numbers of blades off site,I put them back into the paper sleeve, back into the foil packet and secure them with a wrap of tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I am with Jon, a little bit of gaffa tape and in the bin. I might now get a jam jar an put a slot in the lid. We have wheelie bins that are picked up by the bin lorry and emptied automatically so no human hand touches the contents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 We recently had to dispose of some used syringes after an operation. We eventually found that the local council offices will take them provided they are in a proper sharps container as obviously having been used for human use they are considered a bio hazard. I dispose of my old scalpel blades as most of us do , in a jam jar with a slot in the lid and a piece of tape over the slot; if they were in a sharps box they would probably be refused by the refuse collectors . Jam jars it is an in the bin . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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