Household Clinical Waste

Collections

We can collect household clinical waste from you free of charge once a week.  Any bags or boxes of clinical waste must be left out for our contractor by 4am on the day of collection.

Please contact us on the number at the top of this page to request this service.

Containers

Your NHS doctor, nurse, clinic or hospital will supply you with the first bag or box for your waste. We can only collect waste that is in the correct yellow bag or box.  No other containers will be collected.

Our refuse contractor will replace your container with a new one when they pick up your waste.  

We don't keep a supply of bags and boxes at our offices.  Please contact us if you need additional supplies and we will pass this request on to the contractor.

Changing a Collection

Please let us know promptly if you need to change any arrangement, e.g.:

  • You are going away for a period of time;
  • You no longer need a collection;
  • You want to change where you leave the bag or box;
  • You want us to pick up more bags or boxes from you; or
  • You want to reduce the number of bags or boxes we collect from you.

If you are cancelling a collection (temporarily or permanently), please give us at least 48 hours' notice, as our contractors collect their job sheets early in the morning on the day before the collection is made.  If we don't get enough notice, our contractor will make a wasted journey to your home.

What is Clinical Waste?

Clinical waste is defined in the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992.  It means any waste which consists wholly or partly of:

  • human or animal tissue;
  • blood or bodily fluids;
  • excretions;
  • drugs or other pharmaceutical products;
  • swabs or dressings; or;
  • syringes, needles or other sharp instruments;

which unless rendered safe may prove hazardous to any person coming into contact with it. And:

  • any other waste arising from medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, pharmaceutical or similar practice, investigation, treatment, care teaching or research, or the collection of blood for transfusion, being waste which may cause infection to any person coming into contact with it.

Non-Hazardous Waste

If the waste is non-hazardous, and as long as it is appropriately bagged and sealed, you may dispose of this with your normal household waste.

Further Information

Further information on Clinical Waste is available on the DEFRA website.