Clinical vs Non-Clinical Waste

You will come across two types of waste in the practice:

• Clinical waste → any waste that consists entirely or partly of human tissue, body fluids and/or drugs. Examples of clinical waste include used swabs, dressings, PPE, syringes, needles and other sharp objects.
• Non-clinical waste → general waste such as paper, cardboard, packaging, glass and tins which have NOT been contaminated with human tissue, body fluids or drugs.

Types of Waste Container

The diagram below shows which waste container should be used to dispose of each type of waste:

• Non-clinical waste →
• General
• Dry Mixed Recycling
• Clinical waste →
• Medicine / Chemical / Infectious Waste (aka contaminated infectious waste)
• Infectious Waste
• Offensive Waste
• Cytotoxic / Cytostatic Waste

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A clinical waste bin should not have a sign or label on it

Other clinical waste containers

• To dispose of sharps and glass, a plastic sharps bin should be used. For more information, see 🦺Safe Use & Disposal of Sharps.
• For patient home clinical waste containers, see our page ☠️Patient Clinical Waste Bins.

Handling Waste

• When handling waste, appropriate 😷Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be worn, and 👋Hand Hygiene measures followed.
• Waste bins in clinical areas and toilets should be lined and foot-pedal operated with a lid. Always use the foot-operated mechanism to open the lid to prevent hand contamination.
• When clinical waste bags are three-quarters full, tie them at the neck and put into the appropriate clinical waste bin.
• When handling tied waste bags, only hold the bag by the neck and keep at arm’s length to reduce the risk of injury (in case a sharp item has been inappropriately disposed of in the bag).
• If a waste bag awaiting collection is torn, the torn bag and contents should be placed inside a new waste bag.
• Waste bins in other areas (e.g. office) should have a liner, but don't need to have a lid.
• Cleaning staff should take all waste to the designated storage areas, where it will be stored safely and in a secure place away from areas of public access.

Waste collection