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We have put together information on how you can safely dispose of clinical, medical and hygiene waste, including syringes.

To summarise:

  • Hygiene waste – we can collect non-infectious waste such as nappies, sanitary towels and incontinence pads via your general waste household bin

  • Clinical waste – this is waste which is infectious to humans and needs collecting separately and incinerating via our clinical waste service

  • Sharps / needles / syringes – if you are self-medicating, you can put hypodermic needles and syringes in sharps boxes and take to a participating pharmacy (see list below)

Hygiene waste

You can dispose of some types of healthcare related waste in your black general household waste bin. We ask that you bag and tie this waste to avoid leakages:

  • Nappies
  • Sanitary waste
  • Incontinence pads
  • Plasters
  • Wound dressings (non-infectious)
  • Nasal and respiratory secretions
  • Soiled bedding (vomit, blood, urine, faeces etc)
  • Drained catheter and stoma bags

We can provide you with an additional black general waste bin if you have excess amounts of hygiene waste. In some circumstances, we can provide a collection on a weekly basis. This is only for residents who need to dispose of a larger amount of hygiene waste for medical reasons. Please email us at recycling@peterborough.gov.uk to make a request.

Clinical waste

We offer a free clinical waste collection service for residents who are treating themselves at home. You must be under the guidance of a GP or healthcare professional.

We provide this service for infectious waste only, such as:

  • Surgical waste
  • Swabs and dressings

Please note this service is not for residents who are being taken care of by a community nurse or other healthcare professional at home. In this case, the healthcare provider is responsible for disposing of the waste.

Call us on 01733 747474 or email ask@peterborough.gov.uk to discuss signing up to our free clinical waste collection service. We will also talk you through the process including collection days.

Sharps / needles / syringes

You should take your clinical sharps within prescribed containers to a participating pharmacy for disposal. You can get an empty sharps container from your GP practice or other healthcare provider.

If there are exceptional circumstances which mean that you, a relative or friend can’t make a visit to a participating pharmacy, please contact us on 01733 747474 to discuss collections.

A needle exchange programme is also available. View our drugs and alcohol advice page for information.

  • Boots - Serpentine Green, Hampton Hargate, Peterborough, PE7 8BE
  • Boots - Queensgate Centre, Peterborough, PE1 1NW
  • Glinton Pharmacy - 4 Rectory Ln, Glinton, Peterborough PE6 7LR
  • Granville Pharmacy - 35 Granville Street, Peterborough, PE1 2QQ
  • Halls the Chemist - 57 Napier Place, Orton Wistow, Peterborough, PE2 6XN
  • Halls the Chemist - 14a Church Street, Thorney, PE6 0QB
  • Halls the Chemist - The Old Chapel, Church Hill, Castor, PE5 7AU
  • Halls the Chemist - 92 Peterborough Road, Farcet, PE7 3BN
  • Orton Pharmacy - 3 Bushfield, Orton Centre, Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, PE2 5RQ
  • Mi Pharmacy - 12A Skaters Way, Werrington, Peterborough, PE4 6NB
  • Millfield Pharmacy - 387 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 2PF
  • Newborough Pharmacy - 42-46 School Road, Newborough, Peterborough, PE6 7RG
  • Odedra Rc - Rectory Gardens, Old Fletton, Peterborough, PE2 8AY
  • Thomas Walker Pharmacy - Thomas Walker Medical Centre, 87 Princes Street, Peterborough, PE1 2QP
  • Walton Chemist, 178a Mountsteven Avenue, Walton, Peterborough, PE4 6HN
  • Well - 2-6 Hampton Court, Westwood, Peterborough, PE3 7JA
  • West Town Chemist - 63-65 Mayor's Walk, West Town, Peterborough, PE3 6EX

Assisted bin collection service

We can provide an assisted collection service to residents who are unable to move their bins to the kerbside due to ill health, disability or mobility issues.

Visit our assisted bin collection service page for more information.

Contact us

For any advice with regards to collections, please contact our Customer Service Team on 01733 747474 or email ask@peterborough.gov.uk.

Published: 05 November 2024