As the industry leader in safety engineered devices for the containment of sharps and pharmaceuticals, we pride ourselves as experts in the safe and compliant management of all vaccines, sharps and pharmaceutical waste. In the last nine months across the United Kingdom we have been ensuring inventory to accommodate the surge of both pharmaceutical and sharps containers required for disposal of COVID-19 vaccines or near-empty sharps as well as strengthening our service infrastructure to effectively respond to, and support any increase in demand.
COVID-19 Vaccine Disposal Management | An Integrated Partnership
An integral part of COVID-19 vaccine administration is not only temperature-controlled storage requirements of non-administered vaccines, but also the safe and compliant disposal of utilised syringes with trace amounts of vaccines, near-empty vials and expired medications. As a full service partner, Sharpsmart manages every aspect of COVID-19 vaccine collection and disposal for UK healthcare organisations, from the provision of industry-leading hands-freesharps and pharmaceutical waste container systems, through to the compliant collection, transport and waste treatment of bulk vaccine supply or contaminated sharps
Understand our Approach to COVID-19 Waste
Incorrectly disposed or unsecured vaccines and medications can have a detrimental affect on the environment as well as posing extreme risk to people who come into unauthorised contact. Since the onset of the coronavirus in the UK, Sharpsmart has been partnering with NHS trusts and government bodies to facilitate bulk rollout of our Sharpsmart containers at COVID testing sites and vaccination popup facilities.
The Sharpsmart sharps container has been recognised to not only comply with, but exceed government guidelines, positioning it as the safest choice for partially used vials, sharps and COVID vaccine residue. Designed as a hands-free system with inbuilt permanent security locks, anti-shatter and impenetrable plastic, leakproof seals and hands-free design, our purpose-designed pharmaceutical container system eliminates cross-contamination risk and protects clinical staff in COVID-19 vaccine or vial disposal.
NATIONAL SERVICE, LOCAL SUPPORT
With one of the largest clinical service capabilities in the UK, we have national expertise in healthcare regulations and clinical support services for all sized facilities, from nursing homes to NHS Trusts.
MINIMISING INFECTION TRANSFER
All Sharpsmart serices and methodologies are designed with a clinical-first focus; containers that eliminate touch and cross-contamination, robotic washing that achieves maximum sanitisation, solutions designed for patient care.
SUPPLY + SERVICE STABILITY
We have containers, education, vans and people ready to support on scale; we have invested heavily in contingency planning to ensure that we are able to support UK healthcare in its time of need.
EXPERTISE WHEN YOU NEED IT
Serving UK healthcare for almost 20 years, we have compliance, education and clinical experts that can provide up to date guidance on complaint segregation, disposal and changing regulations.
Peer reviewed in four independent studies, clinically proven to reduce Sharps Injuries by up to 87%, and relied on by healthcare facilities around the world, the Sharpsmart sharps containment system is driven by a single objective – To Save Lives. Designed with 13 safety features, manufactured with needle-impenetrable plastic, a gravity balanced safety tray for risk-free sharps disposal, and a built-in overfill protection mechanism, the Sharpsmart is the most advanced sharps container system in the world.
If a piece of candy fell into an open sharps container…
Could a child’s hand reach in to get it?
A sharps container with a no-hands access safety tray is CRUCIAL, especially when situated in a patient environment. The unique patented Sharpsmart tray achieves 100% hand-access restriction, even for tiny inquisitive hands!
This is just the start of its life cycle… Let us take you on a journey of what happens to a Sharpsmart container from the moment we drop it off at your hospital dock right through to its robotic emptying and washing process. It’s a fascinating adventure our little yellow containers have – where they’re mounted, how they’re moved, and who interacts with them daily.
As healthcare facilities across the United Kingdom increasingly focus on reducing the environmental impact of their waste streams (and as environmental impact regulations increase), it is vital to understand the difference between disposing of sharps, cytotoxic and pharmaceutical waste in ‘reusable’ containers, and disposing of them in ‘disposable’ or ‘recyclable’ containers.
At Sharpsmart we don’t just look at a sharps container as a container – to be effective, it must be part of a much bigger system. One that enables point-of-use access, safe foot-pedal operation, wall-locking for tightened security measure, mounting in small spaces, and protection from floor contamination. Our unique Sharpsmart system does it all! Over 60 accessories designed to optimise efficiency, enhance safety and reduce patient interruptions.
The Safety-Designed Sharpsmart containers protect users in vaccine disposal by
eliminating "touch" and unauthorised container retrieval; safety features include:
Sharpsmarts’ trolleys and wall mounts facilitate hands-free sharps and vaccine disposal; while our robotic container washing + sanitisation process eliminates contamination risk.
Key-lockable brackets secure Sharpsmart pharmacuetical containers to walls, eliminating risk of unauthorised removal, tampering or misuse of disposed vaccines and vials.
Each pharmaceutical container is designed with an inbuilt safety tray that eliminates hand-access to contents and protects against content overfill and injury risk.
The Sharpsmart pharmacuetical containers are engineered with inbuilt permanent locks and a hand-restricting opening to eliminate container tampering or retrieval of contents.