A Household Guide for Alabamians - Alabama Department of ...• Place needles, syringes, lancets and...

• Preventinjury,illnessandpollutionbyfollowingthesesimplestepstodisposeofsharpneedlesandcontaminatedmaterialsusedwhenadministeringhealthcareathome.Keepyou,yourfamily,andsanitationworkerssafe.

• Placeneedles,syringes,lancetsandothercontaminatedsharpsinanypuncture-resistant,resealable,disposablehouseholdcontainer(examplesincludeanemptybleachbottle,laundrydetergentbottle,ormetalcoffeecan).Chooseacontainerthatismadeofplasticormetalandonethathasasmallopeningsonoonecanstickhisorherhandintoit.Donotuseclearplasticorglasscontainers.

• UsinganEASYTOREADmarker,writeonthecontainer–“DONOTRECYCLE.”UsedneedlesandothercontaminatedsharpsareNOTrecyclable.

• Donotrecap,purposelybend,break,orotherwisemanipulateneedlesbeforeinsertingthemintothedisposalcontainer.Dropallpartsintothecontainer.

• Onceyourcontainerisfullofusedneedles,fillthecontainerwithonepartbleachsolutionandtenpartsofwater.Allowsolutiontosoakfor20minutes;thisactionwillsterilizeyourusedsharps.Then,pourthesolutionintothesinkandsealthecapwithtapebeforeplacingthedisposalcontainerintothegarbage.Useheavy-dutytape(suchasducttape).

• Disposeofthecontainerinyourregularhouseholdgarbage.

• Besuretokeepallcontainerswithdiscardedsharpsoutofreachofchildrenandpets.

• Placeanysoiledbandages,dialysismachinefilters,disposablesheets,clothing,andmedicalglovesseparatelyinsecurelyfastenedplasticbagsbeforeplacingthemalongwithyourothergarbage.

• Expiredornolongerusedmedicinesshouldbeplacedinthegarbageintheiroriginalcontainers.

• Emptymedicationcontainersshouldbeplacedinthegarbageorrecycledifyourrecyclingcenteracceptsthem.

• Donotdisposeofmedicationdownadrainortoilet.

For more information call the Alabama Department of Environmental Management: 334-271-7700

A Household Guide for Alabamians:Handling and Disposal of Home Medical WasteHAzArDs:• Medicalsharpsimproperlythrownintohouseholdgarbage

canpokethroughgarbagebagscausinginjurytosanitationworkersandothers,includingchildrenandhousekeepers,whomaycomeincontactwiththehouseholdgarbage.Usedneedlescantransmitseriousdiseases.

• Medicationsflusheddownthetoiletorpoureddownadrainmayadverselyaffectthefunctionofaseptictankandcanharmfishandothermarineorganisms.

•Unwantedorexpiredmedicinesorpharmaceuticalsmaybeharmfultochildrenandadults.

• Nevershareusedneedles.

rECOMMENDATIONs FOr DIsPOsAL OF NEEDLEs Or “sHArPs”