Clinical and healthcare waste

We offer a household clinical and healthcare waste collection service to individual households in Southwark free of charge. To receive this service, individual service users need to be registered for the service by their General Practitioner or other healthcare professionals. 

Organisations needing a clinical waste collection service in the course of their business should contact the council for advice. If we're able to provide a service, this will require a contract for the provision of this service and a charge will be payable. You must not dispose of your clinical waste with general waste.

Collections of clinical sharps containers

Most residents who use this service receive a collection every 3 to 6 months – you would need to request a collection when you have a full box that needs to be collected. We can provide more containers if you need them, but please ask when you make a collection request so collection and delivery can take place in one visit. It is safe to store sharps containers, containing only your own sharps, in your home until it can be collected.

Collections of bagged clinical waste

The weekly collection service collects bags of clinical waste of waste including items such as adult incontinence products. You need to make sure that your bagged waste is left outside your front door in a visible place on the day of collection, ready to be collected. Our staff will not enter your home unless this is agreed in advance.

If anyone is self isolating because they or a member of the household is showing symptoms of coronavirus, you must follow the government guidance for disposal of waste, which requires the following measures to be taken. 

If any member of the household has had coronavirus symptoms

Households that are self-isolating because a member of the household has had coronavirus symptoms should:

  • store personal waste such as tissues and disposable cleaning cloths within disposable rubbish bags
  • place these bags into another bag, tied securely and keep it separate from other waste
  • these bags should be put aside for a minimum of 72 hours (3 days) before you put them in your general waste bin
  • you cannot take this type of waste to the Household Waste Recycling and Reuse Centre

Page last updated: 04 October 2023

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