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Compliant and legal sharps waste management
phs offer a range of fully serviced sharps bins to help your business or medical practice meet legal responsibilities, while keeping employees and clients safe.
We’re one of the UK’s leading sharps service providers, with long‑standing contracts across various locations including NHS, clinical and non‑healthcare locations.
phs delivers a fully compliant sharps disposal service designed around your business needs. We also help you stay up to date with legislation and meet duty of care and CQC requirements, including Pre‑acceptance audits etc.
Whether you have large or small volumes of sharps waste, we’ll work together to provide a schedule and comprehensive service that works for you.
How our sharps bin collection service works
Our service manages everything for you providing you with all the paperwork and digital records needed on each collection for your records and audits.
We can advise you on the right waste solution using the information you provide and, where required, complete a site survey before agreeing a collection schedule that works for your organisation.
Here’s what's included:
Quote and site survey if required
Delivery and replacement bins
Efficient collection and management
Copies of all paperwork all uploaded to Myphs portal for easy access
Fully guaranteed products for the duration of the contract
Simple payment plan for flexibility
Fully licenced and regulated service
Waste safely destroyed and disposed of
Who we work with
We supply our sharps bins and services to a range of healthcare and non-healthcare businesses, to comply with regulations and keep you safe including:
Types of sharps bins
Our UN‑approved sharps disposal containers support ESG goals by using up to 100% of recycled materials, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of each bin by 94% compared to using single use plastic. They are available in a wide range of sizes from 0.6L to 30L.
Sharps bins have coloured lids to classify a range of different types of waste so that disposal can be done safely and in the correct way.
There are 3 different colour lids for sharps bins:
Yellow Sharps Bins
Yellow-lidded sharps bins are for sharps contaminated with non-hazardous pharmaceuticals, for example administering medication such as needles and syringes with medication residue (excluding cytotoxic or cytostatic medicine). They’re commonly used in hospitals, clinics, care homes and non-healthcare environments.
Examples include:
- Used needles
- Scalpels
- Syringes with medication residue
Orange Sharps Bins
Orange-lidded sharps bins are for sharps not contaminated with any pharmaceuticals or medicines. This could be products used to take blood or administer saline. As well as healthcare locations, they’re often found in tattoo parlours and other non-healthcare settings.
Examples of waste include:
- Needles or syringes used for blood tests
- Needles used for tattooing or piercings
- Lancets
- Blood vials
- Needles used for acupuncture
- Scalpel blades
Purple Sharps Bins
Cytotoxic waste includes any material containing or contaminated with cytotoxic medicines, which are drugs designed to kill or damage living cells. These are commonly used in chemotherapy and other oncology treatments.
Cytostatic waste includes materials containing or contaminated with cytostatic medicines, these are drugs that inhibit cell growth or cell division rather than killing cells outright. These are commonly used in cancer therapy.
Because the risks posed by cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines are similar, HTM 07 01 places both into the same waste category, requiring:
- Segregation into purple lidded containers
- Hazardous waste classification
- Specialist handling, transport, and disposal processes
This ensures staff safety, environmental protection, and compliance with UK waste legislation.
Why choose phs?
Sustainable and eco-friendly bins
Our bins are made from up to 100% recycled material using no single use plastic. This reduces our carbon footprint by up to 94% and helps towards your ESG targets. They’re also made with zero manufacturing waste to landfill.
Paperless account management
The Myphs online portal offers an easy way to access key documents, raise queries, track visits, and pay invoices. This saves paper and keeps you organised with everything you need in one place.
Fully managed licenced service
We provide you with all the paperwork you need, can advise you on best practice. We then take care of the disposal with our licenced service saving you resources and admin.
Trusted by thousands
With over 6,000 reviews and an ‘Excellent’ Trustpilot rating, and over 120,000 customers including hundreds of NHS trusts and businesses, phs is a trusted partner in clinical and healthcare waste.
Over 60 years’ experience
We understand sharps and medical waste better than anyone. As market leaders you can trust us as your sharps bin disposal partner, keeping you legal and compliant.
Flexible products and service
Sharps bins from 0.6L to 30 litres and an agreement to suit you. Our sharps collection service can suit any type of healthcare provider or business.
We’re really proud to have joined forces with phs. Our priority at our Barchester Healthcare homes is to provide the residents we care for with comfortable, living spaces, and having a reliable waste removal supplier is a key aspect of this.
Case Study: Clinical waste disposal at Barchester Care Homes
How to dispose of sharps waste
The Health & Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013 set out guidelines for sharps waste disposal, such as:
At the point of use, into a designated sharps container to minimize handling and reduce injury risk.
Clearly labelled, colour-coded, and marked with the correct hazard symbol and use indication.
Always stop using when they reach the fill line.
Then date and sign it for traceability and storage.
In line with the Environmental Protection Act’s Duty of Care.
(Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005, Environmental Protection Act 1990) for sharps contaminated with blood, medicines, or infectious materials.
And up to date with correct usage and regulations
How to dispose of sharps bins
You must use a licenced sharps waste disposal company to empty and collect your bins. It’s a legal requirement in the UK to have sharps bins and dispose of sharps waste correctly.
This is enforced and mandated by:
- The Environmental Protection Act 1990
- Health and Safety Regulations 2013
- Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
- and COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health)
Sharps waste can potentially be some of the most dangerous and hazardous waste to deal with, so it’s important that it’s stored and disposed of correctly to keep staff and patients safe.
Failure to manage, store and dispose of waste correctly can result in injury, infection or spread of disease and fines, prosecution or premises closure.
How to Implement a Healthcare Waste Management System
Each service and schedule is bespoke to the customer. The best way to find a price is to get a free no obligation quote.
We cover the whole of the UK, with our regional depots and offices we can serve businesses and healthcare sites nationwide.
Our sharps bins are:
- Certified to ISO23907-1:2019 – Certificate for sharps injury protection standard
- BSI Kitemaked – British Standards institute is a standard used to indemnify products where safety is paramount.
- Certified to UN3291 – Covers the transportation of bulk clinical waste, bio-waste and regulated medical waste.
Once collected, we transport sharps waste to authorised facilities for safe disposal. Waste is then incinerated to ensure complete destruction.
These processes comply with strict environmental and healthcare waste regulations and laws to protect public health and the environment.
You can read more in our guide on how clinical waste is disposed of.
