a household guide for alabamians - alabama department of ...• place needles, syringes, lancets and...
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![Page 1: A Household Guide for Alabamians - Alabama Department of ...• Place needles, syringes, lancets and other contaminated sharps in any puncture-resistant, resealable, disposable household](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022041000/5e9fd6d067f3f4553527c8fd/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
• 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”