Clinical waste includes:
- blood or bodily fluids
- excretions
- drugs or other pharmaceutical products
- swabs or dressings
- syringes, needles or other sharp instruments
Clinical waste can be either hazardous or non-hazardous.
Clinical waste collection and disposal in North Yorkshire
You should always contact your doctor or healthcare professional about disposing of clinical waste.
Clinical waste disposal is managed by former district and borough council waste collection teams. You can use our town and village lookup tool to find out who to contact about clinical waste disposal in your area.
Sharps - needles and syringes
Hypodermic needles and syringes should never be disposed of in household domestic waste. You should put them in a sharps box. These can be prescribed by your GP. They should be returned to the prescribing doctor’s surgery for disposal when full.
Clinical waste from businesses
We do not collect clinical waste from businesses or commercial organisations. You’ll need to contact a specialist, licensed waste contractor.
Hazardous clinical waste
This can only be collected by specialised companies, who have staff trained to collect the waste in a modified and licensed vehicle. All hazardous clinical waste must be incinerated.
Non-hazardous clinical waste
Non-hazardous clinical waste, such as incontinence pads, can be bagged and put into your normal household domestic waste bin.