Hi M I have had this discussion many times in the past and you may find a good starting point is local NHS guidance. Reading "Scottish Hospital Technical Note No. 3: Management and disposal of clinical waste" it is clear that first aid waste can generally be disposed of within the normal waste stream (there may be some exceptions based on your risk assessment of course) appropriately bagged. Clearly this guidance is perhaps more valid in Scotland, but there may well be an equivalent note within the English NHS. Indeed colleagues from the NHS may well be able to supplement my own observations. You should be able to download this technical note freely from the NHS Scotland website (you many need to register) or it may well be available via other websites, a Google search appears to bring up a range of options. Hope this helps, or at the very least starts the ball rolling ! Stuart

Sensative issue but a practical solution. Could you dispose of it in the sanitary waste bin?

It depends on how busy the unit is... If not very then you could use feminine hygiene disposal in a near by toilet, if you have a contract to control this anyway you could add a waste bin for your first aid room to this contract. If very, then you need a suitable bin and also good control to avoid build up of waste etc.. http://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/faqs.htm#infection Says - first aid room should have foot-operated refuse containers, lined with yellow, disposable clinical waste bags or a container suitable for the safe disposal of clinical waste