Sanitary Waste Guide
Managing sanitary waste in your business must be done safely to protect human health and comply with legal regulations. It’s therefore important that you understand your obligations, how to store any type of sanitary waste securely in your washrooms and bathrooms, and how it’s disposed of properly.
To help you get to grips with managing such materials we’ve pulled together everything you need to know about sanitary waste. Discover how to dispose of sanitary waste and what happens to it after leaving your business with these answers to commonly asked questions.
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How to dispose of sanitary waste
Sanitary waste disposal is highly regulated. It’s governed by UK legislation to ensure it’s disposed of safely and hygienically, corresponding to the level of risk it presents to human health. Key legislation is the Water Industry Act 1991, which states no sanitary waste should be flushed away that could lead to blockages or problems with the sewers or drainage system.
To dispose of feminine hygiene and other sanitary products, they must be placed in a sanitary waste bin. Women may simply throw them in when used or wrap such waste in toilet paper. Businesses have a duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to then dispose of it properly as they produce such “controlled” waste.
This requires separating sanitary waste from other waste types and emptying sanitary bins regularly, depending on the volume and usage. Duty of care means employees should not be responsible for sanitary waste removal. Instead, businesses must arrange collection and disposal by a licensed carrier to safely and legally get rid of it.
Any controlled waste (including sanitary) must only be transferred to a waste carrier registered with the Environment Agency. The waste management company must be registered as a waste carrier in the same way as any specialist sanitary bin service collector. They’ll remove the waste and take it to a relevant facility for disposal.
What happens to sanitary waste?
Many women’s hygiene products are made from various materials, including plastic. Tampons to incontinence pads can contain plastic. While these bits of plastic on their own may be recyclable, due to the other materials and health issues, sanitary waste is generally hard to recycle. This means lots of sanitary waste ends up in landfill.
An alternative disposal method is incineration of sanitary products. This removes any health risks the sanitary waste may pose to the environment when left in landfill. However, incineration can release gases and toxic fumes, which add to air pollution. It should undergo treatment to neutralise harmful pathogens before being incinerated.
There are more eco-friendly recyclable and biodegradable women’s health products being developed to help reduce the amount that ends up in landfill. These range from simply using recyclable packaging to creating biodegradable and recyclable applicators themselves.
Is sanitary waste hazardous?
Generally, sanitary waste is not classified as hazardous. This is because it doesn’t usually contain any toxic, chemical, ignitable, or infectious elements. Instead it’s normally a type of offensive waste, which means it’s non-infectious but can be unpleasant for anyone exposed to it.
The likes of hygiene waste and sanitary protection such as nappies and incontinence pads are types of municipal offensive waste. This includes sanitary waste from humans and animal healthcare. They should be separated from clinical waste but don’t need to be treated as hazardous waste.
Do sanitary pads go in
general waste?
At home you may throw away sanitary pads with your general waste. Many feminine hygiene products include packaging so you can wrap it up to dispose of without leakage. At work or in a public bathroom, you should not put sanitary pads in general waste – instead there should be a separate sanitary bin to use.
Can I burn used
sanitary pads?
You should never burn used sanitary pads. Setting fire to sanitary pads can release harmful toxins, causing air pollution. Due to the nature of used sanitary pads it can also pose a serious health hazard for anyone nearby. Used sanitary pads may only be burned within proper sanitary waste incinerators at licenced waste plants.
How do you dispose of
incontinence pads?
Incontinence pads should be disposed of in the same way as most other types of sanitary waste. Fold up a used incontinence pad and place it in a plastic bag within a sanitary bin when using a workplace or public bathroom. If you’re at home, you can throw away used incontinence pads with your general waste – just ensure it’s in a bag to avoid leakage.
Are incontinence pads
hazardous waste?
Most incontinence pads do not class as hazardous waste. Much like waste menstrual products, it’s not normally hazardous as it shouldn’t be infectious. If the person using incontinence pads has a known condition – such as a urinary tract infection – then it may class as hazardous. Most of the time though, it won’t be hazardous.
Can you put sanitary towels
down the toilet?
You must not put sanitary towels, pads, wipes, tampons or any other such products down the toilet. Even with those that claim to be ‘flush-friendly,’ it’s best to avoid and instead place in a relevant sanitary bin. This is because they can cause clogs, which may result in the toilet overflowing or backing up and affecting the septic tank.
It can then be expensive and time-consuming to arrange for a toilet to be fixed at home or in the workplace. Always make sure your business has enough sanitary bins to avoid employees, customers, or visitors resorting to throwing sanitary products down the toilet.
Get a fast and free quote
Get a fast FREE quote for sanitary waste disposal
- Free quote within 1 hr
- Any type of sanitary waste
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- We cover all of the UK
Published 11th February 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 18th February 2025