Lewes District Council

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District Services
Lewes District Council
Southover House
Southover Road
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 1AB

Tel: 01273 484999
customer.services@lewes.gov.uk
Minicom 01273 484488

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Sharps Collection

Sharps BoxWe operate a weekly "Sharps Bucket" Collection Service to safely dispose of sharp objects, like used and unused syringes.

We will collect sharps, properly contained in a yellow top sharps bucket, from householders who are self-treating. Where sharps waste is being generated by a health care worker, district nurse or GP working in a private dwelling, the Primary Care Trust (PCT) must make their own arrangements for the appropriate disposal. This include bottles and containers that contain unused, partially used or out-of-date cytotoxic products and vaccines and other equipment, for example gloves.

Sharps waste must not be placed in normal household waste containers or contaminated with household waste for normal refuse collection. They are collected separately as they are required to be sent to the appropriate licenced treatment facilities. We provide sharps buckets on request. Please ensure that you place your name and address on the label of the sharps bucket. This is a legal requirement and we will not able to collect sharps buckets without these details being completed.

Collection Day

Our weekly collection day within the district is every Tuesday.

Arranging Collections

New Customers

Under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Action 1990 we have a statutory duty to ensure that your waste is correctly described as a) infectious waste or b) offensive waste or c) sharps followed by disposal and treatment in an appropriate and legitimate manner.

When you make your first request - we will send you a letter by post (or email if desired) with a referral form which need to be filled in by your health professional e.g. health care worker, district nurse or GP. They are required to confirm the type of waste in question, sign and return the referral form to us within 30 calendar days from the date shown on the letter. On receipt of the referral form we will contact you to advise you of the collection arrangements.

If the referral form is not returned to us within 30 calendar days from the date shown on the letter we will assume that you no longer require our service.

If you require our service please contact Customer Services.

Existing Customer

If you require a collection please contact Customer Services by 12 noon on the Monday before in order to be included in that week's rounds.

Replenishments

If you require more sharps boxes please contact Customer Services and we will supply them on the day of collection.

Disposal Advice for Discarded Sharps

If you discover discarded sharps please take the following steps.

Do not touch it or allow anyone else to.  Do not kick it in the gutter or down a drain, throw it away amongst household refuse or flush it down the toilet. Please discard it safely by placing it in a metal can or strong plastic bottle.  Remember to wear thick gloves and use tongs or tweezers to pick it up.  Place the needle end of the syringe into the container first.

Make sure you wash your hands afterwards and store the container in a safe place. Report this to Customer Services to arrange collection.


Bank Holiday Collections

Changes to waste and recycling collections will appear here in due course. Please check back again closer to the next Bank Holiday for any forthcoming changes. You can also receive this information by signing up to our e-newsletter service, or checking the back page of our residents' magazine, District News.