Diabetic waste
We provide a free service to collect diabetic sharps waste for residents who have registered in advance. Registration is easy and free of charge.
Registered service users
Diabetic sharps include:
- needles
- syringes
- lancets used with finger-pricking devices
- clippers
- glucose sensors, such as FreeStyle Libre patches.
Please do not dispose of sharps in any household bin. Improper disposal can cause injury and may spread infection.
By submitting the form you confirm that you have read and understood how we process your personal data.
Request a diabetic sharps waste collection or exchange
Apply to use this service
People who have been newly diagnosed with diabetes should be provided with a sharps box by the NHS service supporting them. This box will then be exchanged as part of the collection service.
To register for this service, please email recycling@bedford.gov.uk and include:
- the subject line: Diabetic Waste
- your full name
- the address where the collection will take place
- the name of the NHS service supporting you in managing your diabetes (if possible)
By emailing us you confirm that you have read and understood how we process your personal data.
You should receive confirmation of your registration within five working days, along with full details of how the service works. Once confirmed, you can book a collection and begin using the service immediately.
Domestic clinical waste
For all other clinical waste, we provide a chargeable collection service for domestic households.
We will collect:
- clinical waste (infectious) including swabs, dressings and tubes
- sharps including needles
If you are a patient we recommend you first contact your health visitor, district nurse, care assistant, or the place that supplied the clinical sacks/sharps box, as they may be able to arrange an alternative.
All requests for patient collections should be referred through their medical practitioner in the first instance using our clinical waste referral form (PDF).
Commercial clinical waste
We provide a clinical waste service for businesses such as dental practices, nursing homes, residential homes, beauty salons and tattooists.
Clinical waste includes:
- catheter bags, stoma bags and tubing
- human or animal tissue
- swabs, dressing and pads
- syringes, needles or other sharp instruments
Weekly, fortnightly or monthly collections are offered, to meet your business needs.
Request a commercial clinical waste collection
Check what counts as clinical waste
If you are unsure whether your waste is clinical, you must contact your healthcare provider. They are responsible for confirming the correct disposal route and for providing a risk assessment for any healthcare waste they advise can be placed in your household bin.
This risk assessment must demonstrate compliance with all relevant waste legislation, including the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Controlled Waste Regulations 2012, and the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005.
Where waste is confirmed to be clinical, your healthcare provider has a legal duty of care to ensure that suitable collection and disposal arrangements are in place, and that these are fully funded. They may contact Bedford Borough Council to arrange a clinical waste collection service; however, this will only be provided on the basis that all costs are recovered from the healthcare provider.
Bedford Borough Council does not provide unfunded clinical waste collections because this waste stream is not classed as household waste and requires specialist handling, transport, and disposal at licensed facilities. These costs are the responsibility of the healthcare provider that generated or prescribed the treatment.
Bedford Borough Council reserves the right to refuse to collect any household bin found to contain clinical waste.
Hazardous waste
Hazardous waste contains substances which are harmful to humans or the environment, including flammable, toxic or carcinogenic materials.
Examples of hazardous waste include but are not restricted to:
- asbestos
- chemicals, such as brake fluid or print toner
- solvents including paint
- pesticides
- oils such as car oil (not including edible oils)
- equipment containing ozone depleting substances, such as fridges
A licensed contractor must be contracted to remove hazardous waste.
Visit the Hazardous waste page on GOV.UK for further information.