Thanks!
Does anyone know if Switzerland requires you to use a special container for sharps disposal (syringes, ampules, etc) or can I just use a sturdy plastic jug?
Yikes, please ask a pharmacy
We had a big yellow sharps container from the pharmacy for disposing of syringes when my son was having daily haparin injections.
330ml PET coke bottle, lid tightly on, pop it in the regular trash as you would with any other sharps container. The main thing is that the plastic is thick enough and the container can be sealed: a PET bottle meets both criteria.
A PET bottle is also better than a pharmacy sharps box if you have pets or small kids, as it can be sealed between uses.
A PET bottle is useless for the syringes we had as they don’t fit through the top, it is a good way of disposing of the smaller ones.
Fair point. I was thinking of the detachable needles which I use. My needles also have little plastic caps, which is another layer of safety, so I guess one's mileage may vary.
Might be a local/cantonal thing, but in 'round these parts in Ausserschwz sharps must go in a sharps container, cost something like CHF 3-4 deposit at the pharmacy or often free from the doctor or vet*. Return to pharmacy, doctor, or vet for disposal as medical waste. You get a new sharps container when you return a full one, no additional deposit required. At least at my local Apotheke.
Both needles (with plastic caps) and syringes go in the sharps container, as it is all must be disposed of properly.
Check local disposal regs to be sure.
*Well, nothing is free, the cost is just less transparent as it likely gets rolled into overall prices.
I think it might be. When I had to do injections, the doctor told me to put the needles in a pet bottle and toss in with the regular rubbish. Some needles had caps like DB mentions, and some needles were self-retracting. Either way, all pointy bits were protected before going into the bottle, and luckily for me, all of them fit through a standard PET bottle opening.
BUT - Since this does seem to be regional, I think the safest bet for OP is to go to the pharmacy and ask for a proper sharps container.
We were automatically given the sharps container at the pharmacy when we picked up the syringes so maybe it is required in our canton.
I didn’t really think about it at the time.
That's interesting. All my syringes came directly from the doctor and hospital, so I never even went to a pharmacy and never really thought about it.
I wonder if I had picked up from a pharmacy, if they also would have given me a sharps container. It seems logical they would.
I was given a sharps container the first time too.
Unfortunately, I find them impractical for the reasons outlined above.
Juice bottles have larger openings.
That’s another cantonal thing, the doctors and hospitals aren’t allowed to hand out medicines here.
When I left hospital after surgery I had to go to the emergency pharmacy to get the prescription filled on the way home as it was a bank holiday, the hospital couldn’t give me any to take home.
I have been using a spare 2 liter sharps container from the US. Now that it is full, I'm just looking into my options. A laundry detergent bottle works perfectly. The plastic is thicker than a drink bottle and has a wide opening.
I'll check with the pharmacy, but I believe they charge retail for the box and then a fee for disposal.
Funny story. When I filled my prescription for my b-12 ampules, I had to argue with the pharmacist to give me syringes as well. He argued that I did not have an order, do no syringes. I asked him how I was too take the meds, cut my arm open and pour it into the wound? He relented.
The only objection I can see with a detergent bottle is that it is opaque. A sharps box is obviously a sharps box, and one can clearly see the prickly contents of a clear plastic bottle.
Not sure if that would make a difference, but it's worth thinking about.
The phamacy gave us a large plastic container which goes into the household waste. The other option is to return the used syringes to them, which is what we did.
I don’t think we paid anything for the box and we certainly didn’t pay for disposal, we had several of them over the course of the treatment.
"In the regular trash." Completely irresponsible to say this. It certanly does not belong in the regular trash!!
In a suitable container, sure it does.
We asked at the hospital. They said a PET bottle or a sharps container is equivalent oddly. And we were told to dispose in normal trash as long as the container is sealed. This is very different then the rules in other countries for sure!