You don’t have to be a hospital or GP surgery to produce clinical waste. Tattoo and piercing studios, aesthetics clinics, beauty salons, gyms, care homes and any workplace with a first aid room all produce waste that can’t go in the general bin. Get the segregation wrong and you risk needle-stick injuries to staff and waste collectors, rejected collections and enforcement action.
This guide explains the main types of healthcare-style waste, which container each one goes in, and what paperwork you need.
The three types most small businesses produce
Sharps. Anything that can cut or pierce skin: tattoo and piercing needles, razor blades, scalpel blades, microneedling cartridges and injection needles. Sharps must go in a rigid, UN approved sharps container, never a bag.
Infectious clinical waste. Items contaminated with blood or body fluids from someone known or suspected to have an infection, and some first aid waste. This is hazardous waste.
Offensive waste. Non-infectious items that are unpleasant but don’t pose an infection risk, such as used gloves and aprons, wipes, couch roll, waxing strips, sanitary waste and incontinence pads. Offensive waste isn’t hazardous, but it still can’t go in general waste in large quantities.
Which bin or bag for which waste?
Most UK businesses follow the colour coding in the Department of Health’s HTM 07-01 guidance.
| Colour | What it’s for | Typical producers |
|---|---|---|
| Orange lid sharps bin | Sharps not contaminated with medicines | Tattoo and piercing studios, acupuncture, microneedling |
| Yellow lid sharps bin | Sharps contaminated with medicines | Aesthetics clinics using injectables, vaccination clinics |
| Purple lid sharps bin | Sharps contaminated with cytotoxic or cytostatic medicines | Specialist clinics |
| Orange bag | Infectious waste suitable for alternative treatment | Clinics, care settings |
| Yellow bag | Infectious waste that must be incinerated | Clinics, some first aid waste |
| Yellow and black (tiger) bag | Offensive, non-infectious waste | Salons, tattoo studios, gyms, care homes |
| Blue bin | Out of date or unused medicines | Pharmacies, clinics |
If you’re not sure which applies, ask your waste contractor to assess your waste before the first collection. Putting offensive waste in yellow bags costs more for no benefit, while putting infectious waste in tiger bags is a compliance breach.
What this means for your business
Tattoo and piercing studios: orange lid sharps bins for needles, and tiger bags for gloves, wipes, cling film and barrier covers. Most studios don’t need yellow bags unless something is known to be infectious.
Aesthetics clinics: yellow lid sharps bins for needles used with injectables, a blue bin for out of date products, and tiger bags for general treatment waste.
Beauty and hair salons: an orange lid sharps bin for razors and blades, tiger bags for waxing strips and used consumables, and sanitary bins in the toilets.
Gyms and leisure centres: a small sharps bin in the first aid room, sanitary bins, and yellow or tiger bags for first aid waste depending on the risk. See our guide to waste management for gyms and leisure centres.
Paperwork and legal duties
- Duty of care. You must make sure your waste is correctly described and passed to a registered waste carrier. There’s no minimum amount below which the rules don’t apply.
- Infectious waste is hazardous. It’s usually coded 18 01 03* and each collection needs a hazardous waste consignment note, kept for three years.
- Offensive waste isn’t hazardous. It’s usually coded 18 01 04 or 20 01 99 and moves on a waste transfer note, kept for two years.
- Sanitary facilities. Workplaces must provide suitable means of disposing of sanitary dressings under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
Safe handling tips
- Put sharps straight into the bin at the point of use. Never recap needles.
- Don’t fill sharps bins past the fill line, and lock them closed when full.
- Label every sharps bin with your business name and the date it was started.
- Store full bins and bags in a secure area the public can’t reach until collection.
- Never put sharps, clinical or offensive waste in a skip or general waste bin.
Need clinical or sharps waste collected?
Select A Skip arranges sharps, clinical and offensive waste collections for salons, studios, clinics and gyms across the UK, with the right containers and paperwork. See our hazardous waste services, get a quote or call 01743 341 000.
Sources: Department of Health, HTM 07-01 Safe management of healthcare waste; Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.