For most people, the mere mention and sight of a needle is enough to make them cringe. Well, when it comes to things like Key Largo medical waste management & removal of sharps, maybe this seemingly irrational fear of the needle is well placed.
Needles are pointy and one can easily get pricked on them if he or she is not careful. Sure that’s usually not a problem and can be solved with a band aid. But a band aid won’t do much good if the needle has already been used and is now infected.
How do you deal with infected needles and other sharps? You can’t just throw them into the garbage can or the dumpster. There are actually special removal of sharps methods that you have to use. These are recommended by the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), which is basically one of the most important United States federal agencies (alongside the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, Center for Disease Control and several others) that is responsible for monitoring medical waste management programs in health care facilities and making sure that they are implemented correctly.
When it comes to the removal of sharps (sharps being needles, syringes, lancets, scalpels and similar medical instruments), one of the first rules is placing used sharps into a sharps container.
You can buy a sharps disposal container at a medical supply store or a pharmacy. Just make sure it it leak and pierce resistant and that it has a tight fitting lid with an interlocking system.
What’s important to remember about sharps containers is to avoid filling them all the way. This is dangerous and could increase the chance of a medical waste management handler getting infected. Instead, as soon as the receptacle is filled to about ¾ it is time to dispose of it.
How to Go About the Removal of Sharps Containers?
Keep your sharps container(s) at a safe location and make sure to monitor how much it is filled. Commercial sharps containers have a fill line, so keep an eye on this.
Once you have filled the sharps container, you need to close it and then place a bio-hazard label on it.
Look for a medical waste management company or someone else who deals with the removal of sharps. People who are diabetics can send their sharps containers (with the bio-hazard label) to the ADA (American Diabetes Association).
You can also contact the local hospital, clinic or some other health care facility and inquire if they have a drop box for sharps containers. If they have, you can drive or walk there and place your sharps container in the large box for free. A word of warning. If you see the drop box to be already full, don’t try to jam your sharps container inside so it sticks out or leave it on the ground. Take it back with you and come back later.
Finally, check with your state’s department of health for Key Largo medical waste management & removal of sharps locations available.
