Sanitary bins are a legal requirement for every business in the UK. And there are regulations in place to ensure safe and hygienic disposal of such waste. As part of our complete approach to waste, we offer feminine hygiene, washroom, and sanitary bin services for businesses of any size across any location in the UK. Understand your obligations and arrange sanitary waste disposal with Business Waste.
Our expert team can help you develop an efficient sanitary waste management plan that suits the size of your business. They’re also on hand to answer any questions you might have about sanitary waste laws, your legal obligations, storage, and collection of feminine hygiene waste. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for a free quote today.
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Meet your legal duty of care requirements with sanitary waste collection and disposal by licenced waste carriers. Our sanitary bin services help all types of businesses in the UK get rid of a wide range of sanitary waste – from feminine hygiene waste to used incontinence pads, nappies and more.
Commercial sanitary waste disposal can free you up to get on with running your business, knowing your legal obligations are fulfilled by our experienced nationwide experts. We can assess your business premises, size, and operations to provide the right size and number of sanitary bins, before collecting and disposing of the waste in a timely and responsible fashion.
Our sanitary bin services cover all the UK, so wherever your business is based and whatever its size and industry, we’ll find a solution for you. Arrange sanitary bin collection on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis to suit your removal needs – whether you require sanitary bins for a small business or a national chain.
Get a free quote for sanitary waste disposal today by calling 0800 211 8390 or contact us online. One of our friendly team can answer any questions you may have about your sanitary waste, obligations, and the process, to ensure collection runs safely and smoothly.
When sanitary waste is handled in bulk and collected as a “separate fraction” by contract service collection companies, it then must be managed as “offensive waste.” Many businesses use a waste disposal contractor, as they can provide clean and safe sanitary waste bins and manage all disposal and changeovers, avoiding the need for cleaning staff to handle it.
With Business Waste, we provide free sanitary waste bins for your business – you simply pay for collection. Most sanitary bins are small, so they easily and discreetly fit in your business’ bathrooms. From sanitary bins for a small business to those better suited for large events, find a sanitary disposal bin that meets your needs.
Explore some of the common sizes of sanitary waste bins.
Small sanitary bins ideal for regular collection
Medium sized sanitary disposal bin for less frequent emptying
Large sanitary bins for infrequent disposal and collection
Every UK business should have a sanitary bin in each women’s bathroom on your premises. This enables a suitable way for disposal of sanitary waste, which helps ensure your business operates in line with the legal regulations and your employees and customers feel comfortable.
Even if you run a small business and have unisex/gender neutral toilets, as an employer you still have a duty of care to provide suitable sanitary conveniences. It’s not just for employees but your responsibilities cover any customers, clients, or other visitors to your business premises – so it’s safest to ensure you have sanitary waste bins in place.
While every business requires sanitary bins and proper disposal, those that deal with a lot of people must especially ensure you have sufficient sanitary bin services in place, such as:
There’s no single sanitary waste disposal law in the UK. Instead, a few different regulations cover the area and make it a legal requirement for businesses to have a feminine hygiene bin in their women’s and/or unisex bathrooms. These regulations are the:
Sanitary waste is not categorised as hazardous, special, or clinical waste under UK environmental legislation. It’s also not classed as dangerous goods under transport legislation – as long as it’s considered non-infectious and doesn’t require specialist treatment or disposal.
Under Schedule 1 of the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, offensive waste is that not classed as clinical waste but containing bodily fluids, secretions, or excretions. This falls within codes 18 01 04, 18 02 03 or 20 01 99 in Schedule 1, List of Wastes.
Providing sanitary waste includes non-infectious bodily fluids that are not otherwise clinical waste (such as sharps), they should be categorised as “offensive/hygiene waste.” It must still be managed carefully to avoid harm, but it does not need to be treated in the same way as clinical or hazardous materials.
It’s quick and easy to organise commercial waste collection for your business.
Simply start by telling us the:
We’ll provide you with a free quote.
When you’re happy with the type, number, and size of free dumpsters, tell us when you need your dumpsters delivering.
Let us know about any access issues where you want the dumpsters delivering – such as locked gates, access codes and times. We’ll get you up and running in no time.
After the free dumpsters arrive at your chosen location, fill them up with the agreed trash type.
Make sure you remain within any weight limits for the specific waste type and bin size.
We’ll arrange waste collection at a time and frequency to suit you and the amount of waste you have.
Sanitary waste is a type of “offensive/hygiene waste” (as it can be offensive in appearance and smell). It’s a wide-reaching term that covers liquid or solid waste from humans and human activities that’s not known to be infectious. In most cases, sanitary waste refers to used menstrual hygiene products.
There’s a residual health risk when handling sanitary waste, which should be assessed and precautions put in place. However, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as long as the waste is suitably wrapped, properly handled in line with the regulations and free from residual liquids, the risk to human health is low.
The most common type of sanitary waste is feminine hygiene products. It can cover various other wastes though, such as:
Sanitary waste disposal is highly regulated. It’s governed by UK legislation to ensure such waste is disposed of in a safe and hygienic way, corresponding to the level of risk it presents to human health. Key legislation is the Water Industry Act 1991, which states no sanitary waste should be flushed away that could lead to blockages or problems with the sewers or drainage system.
Therefore, to dispose of feminine hygiene products especially, these must be placed in a sanitary waste bin. Women may simply throw them in when used or prefer to wrap such waste in toilet paper – either is fine. Your business then has a duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as you produce, dispose, or keep “controlled” waste, including sanitary waste.
This requires keeping sanitary waste separate from other waste types and emptying sanitary bins on a regular basis, depending on the volume and usage. Duty of care means employees should not be responsible for sanitary waste removal. Instead, you should arrange collection and disposal of sanitary waste by a licensed carrier to safely and legally get rid of it.
Any controlled waste – such as sanitary waste – must only be transferred to a waste carrier registered with the Environment Agency. The waste management company you use to collect your commercial waste must be registered as a waste carrier in the same way as any specialist sanitary bin service collector.
Many women’s hygiene products are made from a variety of materials, including plastic. Everything from tampons to incontinence pads can contain plastic. While these bits of plastic on their own may be recyclable, due to the other materials and health issues, sanitary waste is generally hard to recycle. Sadly, this means a lot of sanitary waste ends up going to landfill.
An alternative to avoid adding to landfill is incineration of sanitary products. This removes any health risks the sanitary waste may pose to the environment when left in landfill. However, incineration can release gases and toxic fumes, which add to air pollution. When you arrange sanitary waste collection, we’ll transport your waste to a facility for disposal in as safe and environmentally friendly way as possible.
There are more eco-friendly recyclable and biodegradable women’s health products being developed to help reduce the amount that ends up in landfill. These range from simply using recyclable packaging to creating biodegradable and recyclable applicators themselves.
Business Waste have done my sanitary and general rubbish at my salon for 18 months now, and I can’t fault the service. Would definitely recommend.Charlotte Lee
Do sanitary pads go in general waste?
At home you may throw away sanitary pads with your general waste. Many feminine hygiene products include packaging so you can wrap it up to dispose of without leakage. At work or in a public bathroom, you should not put sanitary pads in general waste – instead there should be a separate sanitary bin to use.
Can I burn used sanitary pads?
No, you should never burn used sanitary pads. Setting fire to sanitary pads can release harmful toxins, causing air pollution. Due to the nature of used sanitary pads it can also pose a serious health hazard for anyone nearby. In some cases, used sanitary pads may be incinerated but only within proper sanitary waste incinerators at licenced waste plants.
How do you dispose of incontinence pads?
Incontinence pads should be disposed of in the same way as most other types of sanitary waste. Fold up a used incontinence pad and place it in a plastic bag within a sanitary bin when using a workplace bathroom. If you’re at home, you can throw away used incontinence pads with your general waste – just ensure it’s in a bag to avoid leakage.
Are incontinence pads hazardous waste?
No, most incontinence pads do not class as hazardous waste. Much like waste menstrual products, it’s not normally hazardous as it shouldn’t be infectious. If the person using incontinence pads has a known condition – such as a urinary tract infection – then it may class as hazardous. Most of the time though, it won’t be hazardous.
Can you put sanitary towels down the toilet?
No, you must not put sanitary towels, pads, wipes, tampons or any other such products down the toilet. Even with those that claim to be ‘flush-friendly,’ it’s best to avoid and instead place in a relevant sanitary bin. This is because they can cause clogs, which may result in the toilet overflowing or backing up and affecting the septic tank.
It can then be expensive and time-consuming to arrange for a toilet to be fixed at home or in the workplace. Always make sure your business has enough sanitary bins to avoid employees, customers, or visitors resorting to throwing sanitary products down the toilet.
Are sanitary bins a legal requirement in the workplace in the UK?
Sanitary bins are a legal requirement in the workplace in the UK. Every business in the UK is legally required to provide appropriate facilities and means for the disposal and collection of sanitary products in female washrooms. This is covered in The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, the Water Industries Act 1991, and the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Failure to provide adequate sanitary bins in your workplace bathrooms could be a breach of these legal regulations and result in a large fine. Having sanitary waste bins present in workplace washrooms helps keeps staff and visitors comfortable, so should be a priority a an employer anyway.
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Firms filling landfill sites and resorting to illegal activity to get rid of their rubbish Many businesses have not got the message on recycling and send most, if not all, of their rubbish to landfill, a study by one of the UK’s leading waste and recycling experts has found. According to the Business Waste commercial […]
