Sharps utilization and disposal in British Columbia physicians' offices

To determine the pattern of sharps utilization and disposal in British Columbia physicians' offices, a questionnaire was mailed to all office-based physicians belonging to the British Columbia Medical Association (BCMA). 1,167 physicians (25%) responded. Over 166,000 sharps per month were used by responding physicians, a per physician use of 95 per month. 67% of physicians used a specific plastic container for sharps disposal and 22% used a recycled container. 40% of the used containers were returned to a hospital or laboratory for disposal; 29% contracted out to a waste removal company, 18% placed with regular office garbage and 4% taken directly to a landfill or incinerator. Most offices (64%) had access to an autoclave or chemclave but few physicians (2%) sterilized their sharps waste prior to disposal. The recommended options for discarding used sharps containers in the office setting are: return to a hospital or laboratory for processing with their infectious waste; removal by a waste disposal service; or sterilization followed by disposal with regular garbage.