Posted By Anwar Afzal I understand guidelines are about to be introduced in september/October this year which will define what is hazardous waste in the healthcare, and this will include items such as nappies and pads etc. This may mean that exemption from registration to the local authority will be disgregarded and everyone who produces waste of this nature will have to register, and prepare to segregate them from each other and identify what is infectious etc. It may mean a whole new ball game. What is worse is that nurses who take away such waste may have to ensure they comply with the dangerous good carriage leglislation.

Posted By Anwar Afzal Yes nurses coming onto elderly schemes tend to take away waste including sharps etc, and therefore it may apply if on a regular basis

Posted By J Knight Hi Anwar, I was at the Healthcare SG yesterday, and there was a presentation on exactly this subject. The change you talk about is new DoH/HSE/EA guidance on waste management in Healthcare which is due out in a couple of months following a second (private) round of consultation which starts today. The original document can be found in the condocs archive on this site, but it has already changed substantially following round 1 of the consultation. There will almost certainly be a new category of waste; 'offensive' waste. This will be continence pads, childrens nappies and so on. This will not be treated as hazardous waste. Segregation is coming back big style, but it will not be mandatory even in the NHS, so even less so for independent/voluntary/LA sector providers. The new guidance will also meet Standards for Better Health, and as such wil be acceptable to CHAI, so you will find pressure from CHAI to segregate if you decide not to, but to repeat mysel;f it will not be mandatory. This is how I understood the content of the presentation; more will be known once the second consultation is over, John

Posted By Jim Walker My wife (district nurse)will be in raptures when I tell her about this one!

Posted By Anwar Afzal Hi Again We have care homes who produce 2 large wheelie bins of yellow bag waste a week, and we also have nurses attending our elderly schemes and taking away infected dressings etc, so you can see why i am concerned especially when i look after around 200 different schemes.

Posted By J Knight Hi Anwar, Re requirement to register, you need to read para 23 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations together with s75 of the 1990 EPA. Para 23 excludes premises in paras (a) to (e) of the EPA provided they produce less than 200Kg; paras (c) and (e) refer to residential and nursing homes/hospitals respectively. This stuff is much more complicated than HASAWA, I'll tell you, John