What Type of Waste Is Disposed of in a Yellow Bag?

In the United Kingdom, we have strict laws regarding the disposing of clinical waste to protect our health and the health of the environment. To ensure that it is disposed of responsibly, we put waste in colour-coded bags, all of which need to comply with the UN3291 standard; the required quality of bag to deal with potentially dangerous waste. Therefore, it’s important to understand what needs to be disposed of in each type of bag to minimise the risks associated with clinical waste, and in this article, we’ll be focusing on the yellow bag. If you’d like a brief overview of the other types of bags, please read our dedicated article here.

What Is a Yellow Bag Used For?

The yellow clinical waste bag is used for infectious clinical waste that has been contaminated by medicines or chemicals; known as high-risk waste. Since 1990, UK citizens have been compliant with the “Environmental Protection Act”, which provides the legal framework for waste management practices and sets out the duties of waste producers. This relates to clinical waste management, as the act paved the way for future regulations on how we manage our clinical waste, such as “Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005”, a policy which identified some clinical wastage as being hazardous, tightening regulations on how we dispose of this waste. In the UK, we create a lot of clinical waste; every year, NHS providers produce approximately 156,000 tonnes of clinical waste that is either sent to High-Temperature Incineration (HTI) or for Alternative Treatment (AT), which is equivalent to over 400 loaded jumbo jets of waste.

There are specific materials which can be disposed of in the yellow bag, all of which are incinerated as they are considered high-risk, instead of being sent to an Alternative Treatment (AT) plant. Examples of waste that can be disposed of in yellow bags include;

• Chemically contaminated waste
• Plasters, dressings and bandages
• Wipes and swabs
• Empty IV bags and tubing
• Body fluids: blood, vomit, urine
• Incontinence waste
• Laboratory samples
• PPE equipment: masks, gloves, gowns and aprons

How Does the Yellow Bag Differ to the Other Bags?

It’s important to be able to differentiate between the different coloured coded bags, due to the fact they vary in risk to human health, and that they are disposed of in different types of waste plants. The yellow bag contains material that perhaps poses the most risk for human health since it is contaminated and potentially infectious too; this needs to be separated from waste which may fall into other coloured bags. If you’re unsure whether your waste is contaminated or not, it’s best to be safe and dispose of the material in the yellow bag.

There are similarities between the yellow bag and other coloured bags, most notably the orange bag. The same types of materials are disposed of in both the yellow and orange bags, and both bag contents are incinerated; the key difference is that the waste in the yellow bag is contaminated, but the waste in the orange bag is not.

Waste is separated into different categories, most notably the following:

• Infectious (Contaminated)
• Infectious (Non-Contaminated)
• Offensive
• Anatomical
• Cytotoxic and Cytostatic
• Medical (Non-Hazardous)
• Dental (Amalgam and Gypsum)
• General

Protecting Yourself Whilst Disposing of Waste

Since we’ve identified the types of material disposed of in the yellow bag, and understood that they’re contaminated and infectious, it’s important to know the risks involved, and how to keep yourself (and others) safe when handling them. As infectious waste is potentially harmful to health, it must be managed more carefully than non-infectious waste. Even some non-infectious waste has the potential of infection if not disposed of quickly and safely. “Infectious” means waste that is hazardous to anyone coming into contact with it, because it has been produced from the treatment of patients who are infectious or potentially infectious- this is why it is incinerated, due to the risks to public health.

When handling infectious material, strict regulations and proper sanitation practices need to be adhered to, to reduce the risk to yourself and others. Depending on the setting in which you find yourself, such as a hospital or veterinary practice, full training on how to handle hazardous waste should be given. Correct PPE should be worn at all times when handling this type of waste, such as gloves, masks and goggles, to minimise the chance of infections reaching your body. This PPE should also be disposed of in a yellow bag, in case they’re contaminated too. These bags should be clearly labelled so that a waste collection service knows exactly where to send the bag, and so that they know the danger of the materials inside. These bags will be collected by specialist hazardous waste firms, to ensure that the bags are taken to the right locations and not confused with general waste.

Is Your Workplace in Need of Clinical Waste Bags?

We supply the best in robust and reliable clinical waste bags, specially manufactured to comply with the UN3291 standard and help you meet your CQC requirements. Contact us to order your clinical waste sacks today.