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Reusable Sharps Container

Reusable Sharps Container Program for Hospitals

Our Sharps Management Service utilizes reusable containers to streamline the safe collection and disposal of sharps and needles and help protect your staff against needlestick injuries.We protect what matters.

Fill out the form or call 847-943-6069 to start protecting your business today.

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Streamline Sharps Management with a Pioneer in Reusable Sharps Containers

Improve Safety and Patient Care
Proactive container exchange ensures that containers don’t exceed the fill-line, avoiding sharps injuries during disposal. By eliminating your organization’s responsibility of ordering, storing, transporting and monitoring inventory, staff has more time to focus on what matters most – patient care.

Easy-to-Use Sharps Container Design
Developed to minimize employee and patient exposure to bloodborne pathogens from needlestick injuries, our unique sharps container design allows staff to safely dispose of sharps using one hand and an easy-to-see fill line to help avoid overfilling. Containers come in a variety of sizes for various hospital settings.

Environmentally Friendly
Every reusable sharps container is equal to 600 disposable sharps containers. This reduces plastic going to landfills, reducing your carbon footprint.

Regulatory Compliance
Our reusable sharps containers are compliant with all federal, state and local regulations related to sharps waste and disposal.

How the Sharps Management Service Works

A Stericycle Service Specialist proactively exchanges the reusable sharps containers throughout the hospital. This relieves the burden of exchanging and disposing of sharps containers for Nursing and Environmental Services and reduces the risk of needlestick injuries.

Reusable process Step-1Step 1

Expert site inspection identifies proper mounting location and size for every area. Cabinets are installed at the NIOSH recommended height as close to the area of use as practical.

Reusable process Step-2Step 2

Reusable containers are proactively exchanged on a schedule before overfilling can occur.

Reusable process Step-3Step 3

Exchanged containers are safely consolidated for transport on exchange carts customized for each hospital.

Reusable process Step-4Step 4

Using our proprietary system, full containers are scanned at the generator site to real-time tracking from pickup through disposal.

Reusable process Step-5Step 5

Containers are transported to our processing facility in accordance with DOT regulations.

Reusable process Step-6Step 6

Individual containers are scanned on receipt at our processing facility to track the container lifecycle.

Reusable process Step-7Step 7

Lids are removed using state-of-the-art robotic equipment.

Reusable process Step-8Step 8

The contents are emptied for treatment and final disposal. 100% of containers are inspected to ensure all of the contents have been removed.

Reusable process Step-9Step 9

Containers are cleaned and disinfected using validated equipment. The process is continuously monitored and in-process inspections are performed on a regular basis.

Reusable process Step-10Step 10

All containers receive a quality inspection, are reassembled, and staged for delivery to your hospital  on a covered exchange cart.

Service Specialists are trained in the following:

  • Access/Exposure to Medical Records
  • Accident and Injury Reporting Requirements
  • Behavior Based Safety
  • Bloodborne Pathogens and Tuberculosis
  • DOT Hazardous Materials
  • Emergency Action Plan
  • FDA Compliance and Medical Device Training
  • General Emergency Action Plans
  • Hazard Communication
  • HIPAA Privacy Act
  • Industrial Athlete, Lifting Safety and Ergonomics
  • Isolation Precautions
  • Personal Electronic Equipment
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  • Proper Lifting Technique
  • Radiation Awareness
  • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Slip, Trip, Fall or Walking/Working Surfaces
  • Spill Response
  • Stop Work Authority
  • Waste Acceptance Protocol
 

Improve Your Hospital’s Sustainability Initiatives

Sharps Management Service can increase safety and support your hospital's sustainability efforts. The unique design of our reusable sharps containers has been proven to greatly reduce needlesticks and each one of our reusable containers saves 600 disposable containers from ending up in landfills.

Why Stericycle?

Your Single Nationwide Partner

Your Risk Reduction Experts

Your Sustainability Champion

We manage all major regulated waste streams and offer OSHA and HIPAA compliance training, delivering a 99.7%1 on-time pick-up rate with our fleet of more than 7,000 trucks.

We reduce your risk through full chain of custody and proprietary, real-time tracking systems in addition to compliance experts to keep you informed of federal, state, and local regulatory developments.

We minimize landfill waste, collecting 56 million pounds of plastic and 1.5 billion pounds of paper, and are invested in reducing our fuel-related emissions, achieving a 4% reduction from 2017 to 2019.2
1. Based on Stericycle data, RMW Missed Stops Report, YTD August 2018.
2. Based on Stericycle data, 2018. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Stericycle reusable sharps containers compliant with federal and state regulations?

The containers have Federal Drug Administration (FDA) 510k market clearance and are puncture resistant to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. In addition, our containers meet Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) bloodborne pathogens standards for collection, are installed at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended height and satisfy Department of Transportation (DOT) standards for transportation.

Why is FDA 510k clearance important for sharps containers?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) market clearance helps ensure that sharps containers meet their criteria for safe and effective use. Since contaminated sharps can transmit diseases and cause health issues, immediately disposing of sharps in a FDA-cleared container can help reduce the risk of injury and infection.

What are OSHA’s requirements for sharps containers?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard related to sharps containers requires that contaminated sharps be disposed of immediately, or as soon as feasible. Containers are required to be closable, puncture resistant, leakproof on sides and bottom and color-coded or labeled with biohazard symbol .

What are the NIOSH guidelines for sharps container height?

The National Institute for Occupational Safety (NIOSH) provides research and guidance for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. To help reduce the number of sharps-related injuries, NIOSH guidelines provide guidance on the installation height of sharps containers. For disposal areas where healthcare workers are standing, the fixed sharps container height should be installed at a height where the opening is 52-56 inches from the standing surface. In areas where healthcare workers are seated, the sharps container height should be 38-42 inches from the floor.

How does Stericycle dispose of sharps and disinfect reusable sharps containers?

First, container lids are removed using robotic equipment. Then the contents are emptied and disinfected by autoclave and finally sent to a landfill or a waste-to-energy facility. The reusable sharps containers are disinfected and inspected prior to being sent into circulation for reuse.


Sharps containers are considered a class II medical device and a non-critical care item. Non-critical care items are instruments and other devices that do not directly come into contact with patients but may be contaminated during patient care. Stericycle follows the FDA recommendation of disinfection for non-critical care items and disinfects to an intermediate level.

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