Every hospital in the world, on a daily basis, uses needles on a majority of the patients they see. However, not every hospital disposes of these needles correctly, especially in places with improper training.
In This Article
That being said, how many needles do hospitals actually use daily? Is it an actual problem or just overblown to scare people? Let’s find out!
Let's Talk Numbers
The
World Health Organization
estimates that 16 billion injections are administered world-wide, every single year. If we do some rough math, we can figure out how many of these needles are used in the USA.
The US accounts for 5% of the world’s population, so if you take 4% of the total needles used worldwide we still come to 800,000,000 needles used per year in the US, or just over 2 million needles a day!
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How Are They Disposed and Sterilized?
These two million needles have to be disposed of somehow. The first step before actual
sharps disposal
is collection, obviously.
Throwing needles in the regular garbage or even your biohazard bag is very, very unsafe. Doing this can result in sanitation workers being poked with infectious needles, the sharps will rip your bag and cause it to leak, and any leftover medications in the needle will make their way into your local water supply.
The proper and safe way to dispose of used or unwanted needles is to simply place them in a sharps container. These containers are specially made to be puncture and leak proof so they can safely store needles with or without medication in them.
Once they are collected, your favorite medical waste disposal company (MedPro, I’d hope!) picks up the container and brings it to a sterilization facility. At this facility the needles are either ran through a simple incineration process, or the more complicated but more environmentally friendly autoclave.
If you’re interested in the journey medical and sharps waste takes after being picked up, check out my other blog about “What Happens to Medical Waste After It’s Picked Up?”.
What’s Being Done to Combat Improper Sharps Disposal?
Thankfully we have made strides in terms of harm-reduction in hospital settings. OSHA regulations, technological advances, and more easily-accessible compliance training have all helped combat needle related in the injuries in the workplace and even in homes.
The American Journal of Infection Control00724-3/abstract) released a study in 2012 about the reduction of “percutaneous injury” (needle pokes) in US hospitals over two time periods: 1993-1994 and 2006-2007. The result of the study was that we have seen a 53% reduction in sharps injuries in the past 20 years, which in my mind is incredible.
MedPro is proud to offer our assistance in reducing workplace needle injuries. Be it through our OSHA Compliance training, our sharps mailback, or our sharps disposal services, we are here for your safety.
Image source: Penn State
Common Questions
- What is considered sharps waste?
- Sharps waste is any contaminated object that can penetrate the skin. OSHA's definition includes needles, scalpels, broken glass, broken capillary tubes, and exposed ends of dental wires. In practice that also covers syringes, lancets, insulin pens, auto-injectors, infusion sets, connection needles, and suture needles.
- What can you put in a sharps container?
- Anything that can puncture or cut skin and has been contaminated — needles, syringes, lancets, scalpels and blades, auto-injectors, infusion sets, and contaminated broken glass. Don't put in medications, soft biohazard waste like gauze, or ordinary trash such as caps and wrappers; they belong in their own streams.
- Can you recap a used needle?
- Generally, no. OSHA prohibits bending, recapping, or removing contaminated needles unless the employer can show no alternative is feasible or a specific medical or dental procedure requires it — and then only with a mechanical device or a one-handed technique. Shearing or breaking contaminated needles is always prohibited.
- How do you dispose of a full sharps container?
- Close and lock it, then have it collected by a licensed medical waste company or ship it through a mail-back program in approved packaging. Sealed containers are treated along with their contents, usually by autoclave. Never put sharps containers in the regular trash or recycling at a healthcare facility, and never reuse them.
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