Home Medical Waste Management

While it’s a more convenient option to manage care from home, it also means your home now produces medical waste that cannot go into the regular trash.

Home medical care is an important aspect of managing a variety of diseases, from diabetes to renal failure which requires dialysis treatment. It’s a more convenient option to manage care from home, but that also means your home now produces medical waste that cannot go into the regular trash.

If not disposed of properly and safely, items such as syringes, needles, lancets, soiled bandages, used dialysis filters, disposable sheets/clothing, and even old medication, can seriously harm family, friends, and sanitation workers.

The primary type of at-home medical waste consists of sharps. Hypodermic needles, lancets, IV tubing with needles, glass tubes, and syringes no longer in their original containers are all considered sharps.

Medical sharps improperly thrown into household garbage can poke through garbage bags causing injury to sanitation workers and others, including children and home health aids, who may come in contact with the household garbage. Used needles can transmit serious diseases.

Managing Medical Waste At Home

Medical waste management at home isn’t complicated, but still requires precision and care.

Place needles, syringes, lancets and other contaminated sharps in any puncture-resistant, resealable, disposable household container. This includes an empty bleach bottle, laundry detergent bottle, or metal coffee can. Containers should be made of plastic or metal and have a small opening so no one can stick their hands into it.

At home, depending on your state, you can treat your own medical waste by filling the container with one part bleach solution and ten parts of water and allow the solution to soak for 20 minutes to sterilize your sharps. This solution can be poured into the sink, but then you must seal the cap with heavy-duty tape before placing the disposal container into the garbage. Not all municipalities may allow this, however. Many states have collection sites for sharps disposal.

Soiled bandages, dialysis machine filters, disposable sheets, clothing, and medical gloves should be disposed of separately in securely fastened plastic bags before being placed in the regular trash.

Of course, at-home medical care means making life as easy and convenient as possible for you and your home health aids. Instead of treating medical waste yourself, or if you’re unsure about collection sites, RedBags.com has safe and effective methods of medical waste disposal so you can worry about staying well and leaving the medical waste worry to us.

No job is too big or too small for us. We offer next day service options for red bag waste and sharps.

Contact RedBags.com today to discuss an option plan that works for you!

 

Service Areas: Long Island Medical Waste; New York City Medical Waste; Westchester Medical Waste and more!