Environmental Impact of Clinical Sharps Bins

Introduction

All hospitals use sharp objects and tools such as needles and scalpels and other potentially dangerous materials especially after use as they may well carry infections. As such disposal of these materials after use is critical to ensure environmental conservation and protection. According to Initial.co.uk (2019) Sharps bins enable the safe storage as well as disposal of all categories of sharps waste. Sharps bins used by the NHS trust hospitals are therefore categorized according to UN approved colors coded to ensure waste is segregated accurately for disposal.

The Whittington hospital located on Magdala Avenue, London was the location for the auditing of the use: including delivery distribution, collection and disposal of sharps bins to ensure environmental conservation and preservation. The HASTAM audit material on the section of management of waste emissions and discharges was used in being able to conduct the audit and present this report and presentation on the impact clinical sharps in Whittington hospital has on the environment.

The hospital uses Sharp bins of different colors and sizes based on the UN color coding and ranges. This is also in accordance with the environmental management system standards prescribed by the ISO14001 which distinguishes different categories of sharp wastes within the hospital.

The bins used are also puncture resistant and seepage proof and comes with an option of wall or cabinet mounting brackets. The risk associated with the use of sharps disposal is probably the possibility of disposing of sharps in the wrong disposal bins. NHS.UK (2019) highlights the different color codes which are also applied for use in Whittington Hospital to include: Orange to include storage and disposal of not containing or contaminated with medicine, Yellow for sharps contaminated with or containing medicine, Purple for the storage or disposal of sharps containing medicines with Cyto-toxic or Cyto-static contents or contamination and Blue for disposal of out of date drugs, used drug kits and any other discarded items that were previously used in the handling of drugs and pharmaceuticals. There is also a risk of accidents and injury especially from sharp objects such as needles which are considered the most hazardous material not only to adults but also to the children.

The hospitals Environmental Policy is to minimize environmental impact of harmful emissions to air, land as well as water through enacting initiatives that facilitate this reduction. According to Whittington.Nhs.uk (2018) this has in the past years included reducing the overall hospitals carbon print, engaging use of electric vehicles for traveling as well as raising awareness on environmental conservation.

The company’s sharps they usage encompasses a network of receipt, distribution, Use, collection and disposal. Upon the delivery of the sharps to the hospital are distributed to the different wards and used in accordance to any instructions presented for their use. These may include where applicable; securing sharps with magnets, observing all the handling precautions for using sharps including not leaving them on desks or sitting spaces, storing them in the convenient places, for instance razor blades in Petri dishes, storing the containers in an effective disposal box to ensure efficient disposal which enables environmental conservation. After their use, the sharps are disposed of on different containers based on the color coding to enable effective segregation at which point they can then be disposed off.

Diagram for the use process

Private disposal

The disposal of the sharps bins is based on the content which is dependent on the color coding described by the UN standards. Jolla (2019) points out that disposal are privately collected by the Environmental, Health and Safety disposal firm UCSD which is contracted by the hospital. As such management of the risk or any disaster as a result of spillage and emission to the Air Water and Land is transferred to the contracted disposal company.

Legislation Compliance

A wide range of legislations in the UK exist especially with relation to environmental conservation and control for which the hospital fully complies with including: The Environmental Protection Act 1990, Clean Air Act 1993, Environment Act 1995, The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care ) regulations 1991, clean Neighborhoods and Environment Act 2005 and the Environmental Permitting (Duty of Care) regulations 2010. All these are to effectively ensure that the environment is protected from all forms of contamination whether solid , gaseous or liquid waste coming off of an organization.

The audit also highlighted the existence of a Control of Substance Hazardous to Health (COSHH) assessment unit which ensures the obtaining of relevant information from the sharp equipments to ensure their appropriate eventual disposal which enhances the conservation of the environment further.

Conclusion

The audit conducted on the hospital highlights the necessity and importance of ensuring and counter checking appropriate disposal of sharps bins to enhance the conservation of the environment. In addition to using an up to date system in being able to distinguish and segregate sharp objects for disposal, the hospital also indulges the use of a COSHH assessment unit to further ascertain the objects disposal and ensure their eventual appropriate disposal for an upgraded environmental conservation process. While emissions to air might be a concern especially when it comes to the toxic drugs and other hazardous substances and fumes, their actual emission from the trucks is cut as the sharp bins used are actually seepage proof and therefore remain tightly sealed until approximately disposed.

Recommendation

Rather than contracting an external company to handle the disposal of the sharp bins from the hospital, the hospital developing recycling and disposal techniques facilitated by the hospitals own management should be able to enhance the process of disposal itself and by extension significantly impact the conservation of the environment. Through own handling of the sharp waste, the segregation and the classification of the waste can further be ascertained as well as the methods of disposal for ensuring compatibility in the type of sharp waste and the mode of its disposal.

References

• Initial.co.uk (2019). Sharps Bins | Initial UK. [online] Initial.co.uk. Available at: https://www.initial.co.uk/sharps-disposal/sharps-bins/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
• Jolla, L. (2019). How to Dispose of Sharps. [online] Blink.ucsd.edu. Available at: https://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/research-lab/hazardous-waste/sharps/index.html [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
• NHS.UK (2019). Sharps: disposal of used sharps. [online] Gosh.nhs.uk. Available at: https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/health-professionals/clinical-guidelines/sharps-disposal-used-sharps [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
• Whittington.nhs.uk (2018). Whittington Hospital. [online] Whittington.nhs.uk. Available at: https://www.whittington.nhs.uk [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].