Sherbourne Recycling is urging households not to dispose of weight-loss jabs in recycling collections.
The company said that alongside needles, syringes and insulin pens, weight-loss jabs, colloquially known as ‘fat jabs’, are quickly becoming one of the site’s most prevalent contaminants.
Sherbourne highlighted a recent case of a refuse worker who was taken to hospital after a used weight-loss needle pierced two pairs of gloves that he was wearing.
Following four vaccinations, several booster shots and multiple blood tests, he is now campaigning to highlight the risks of improper waste disposal.
Commenting on the campaign, Layla Shannon, business development director at Sherbourne Recycling, said: “Over the past few months, we’ve experienced a notable rise in the number of sharps discovered at our Material Recovery Facility (MRF).”
“While it may be easy for residents to throw used items into the nearest bin, we’re keen to get the message out there that it puts our crews, operatives and sorting staff in real danger.”
Alongside injuries and the risk of infection, Shannon suggests that sharps have a wider business impact too.
She continued: “The safety of our staff is obviously the first and most important reason to clamp down, but it’s impossible to escape the commercial impact of improper sharps disposal too.”
“Alongside disrupting operations, damaging equipment and contaminating otherwise recyclable loads, we also have to pay to dispose of items that can’t be recycled.”
All sharps should be disposed of in a rigid, puncture-resistant BS-compliant container and taken to a participating community pharmacy or local GP surgery.
Some residents may even be able to arrange a clinical waste collection through their local council.
