Clinical Waste Bins

A clinical waste bin is a container to store waste produced in healthcare and similar settings that could be hazardous, infectious, or risk spreading disease. The bin, its lid, or the waste bag it contains are colour-coded to identify the type of clinical waste it’s designed to hold.

This helps separate different kinds of clinical waste to avoid contamination and ensure each stream is disposed of appropriately. There are a wide variety of clinical waste disposal bins in many sizes and colours. These range from clinical waste pedal bins that provide hygienic hands-free operation to plastic containers, sharps bins, and clinical waste bags and sack holders.

What goes in a clinical waste bin depends on the colour of the bin and/or its lid. Generally, you can use medical waste bins to store:

• Blood, blood bags, and bodily fluids
• Sharps – syringes, needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments
• Swabs, dressings, and bandages
• Sanitary waste
• PPE – disposable gloves, masks, and gowns

Clinical waste bin colours define the specific type of waste they’re designed to hold before its removal and disposal. The colour of the clinical waste bin and/or its lid that relates to the waste type you can put in it are:

• Yellow – highly infectious waste such as contaminated bandages, wipes, gloves, and disposable garments.
• Red – anatomical waste including body parts, tissue samples, and blood bags.
• Purple – cytotoxic and cytostatic waste like patches, medicinal vials, and blister packs.
• White – dental (amalgam) waste including teeth with fillings, grindings, and packaging/capsules containing residue.
• Orange – infectious waste such as masks, aprons, and dressings.
• Yellow and black (tiger) – non-infectious clinical waste like disposable garments, nappies, wipes, and incontinence pads.

Organisations that create any type and amount of medical waste must use a clinical waste bin to store and dispose of it. Even if it’s only a few wipes that could be contaminated or scalpels used in any kind of treatment, you’ll still need a small clinical waste bin or sharps bin.

Hospitals, GP surgeries, and other healthcare facilities are the main organisations that need clinical waste bins to separate and store such waste before disposal. However, many other businesses also produce types of clinical waste and require bins or bags for safe storage. These include:

• Hospitals – hospital clinical waste bins are essential to hold a wide range of medical waste produced by operations, surgery, and general care.
• Care homes – clinical waste bins are vital to store patients’ old medication, PE, and contaminated bedding.
• Tattoo parlours – sharps bins are needed in tattoo studios for needles, as well as any contaminated PPE and other items.
• Beauty salons – needles, scalpels, and other sharp items used in treatments must go in a sharps bin, while they can also create contaminated clinical waste.
• Dental practices – amalgam, teeth, sharps, and contaminated PPE all need a clinical waste bin in dental surgeries.
• Laboratories – tissue samples and contaminated equipment require a clinical waste bin.