Used blade disposal

[steve1]

As modellers we probably get through a lot of blades (X-Acto, scalpel, etc) that need to disposed of safely at the

end of their useful life. Having fairly recently taken up 'proper' shaving using a safety razor with double edge

blades, I now have an addition source of 'sharps' that need to be stored securely when their time comes.

 

Looking at some shaving supplies retailers, I have discovered blade banks which are designed for this very purpose

It then occurred to me that I could also use one for my used modelling blades in addition to the razor blades.

 

I bought this for my razor blades:

https://bladesandwhiskers.co.uk/shaving/double-edge-razor-blades/feather-blade-bank-razor-blade-disposal-case

 

Being metal, when it is full the whole thing goes to recycling and safely so.

 

Thought I would pass on the tip here...

 

steve

[jpendle]

Here in the US we can dispose of 'sharps' in a plastic container. A plastic milk container is acceptable. As 'sharps' are a biohazard they aren't recycled.

 

Regards,

 

John P

[grahame]

You can get an official yellow 'sharps' bin from the local chemist/pharmacy. They can be purchased although I get mine 'free' for disposal of diabetic needles and put used modelling blades in it as well. When full it can be sealed and the local authority will arrange to collect and dispose of.

 

G

[stewartingram]

You can get an official yellow 'sharps' bin from the local chemist/pharmacy. They can be purchased although I get mine 'free' for disposal of diabetic needles and put used modelling blades in it as well. When full it can be sealed and the local authority will arrange to collect and dispose of.

 

G

 

Except in Fenland (Cambs). The local pharmacies and GP surgeries used to take sharps containers in free of charge, funded by the NHS,but there are pending changes. The local council (like all councils, cash-strapped), apparently is/was to take on the responsibility of collecting sharps containers as it was to no longer be an NHS responsibility. The council came up with a hair brained idea that you could have the boxes (admittedly not necessarily singly) collected - for £8 a time- by a man in a van (suitably trained in handling sealed containers of course). Due to opposition, they have put the idea on hold for an indefinite period, but now the local GP and pharmacy have stopped taking them because they have had no further updates from the council ! You couldn't make it up.

Would it not be more sensible to have central collection points (such as GP or pharmacy maybe?) and let them call to have a van load taken away in one trip? The costs would be much less, and if we had to pay, it surely ought to be pence rather than pounds?

And yes, I also add my knife blades to the box, though mine last ages as I continually re-sharpen them.

Stewart

[phil-b259]

Here in the US we can dispose of 'sharps' in a plastic container. A plastic milk container is acceptable. As 'sharps' are a biohazard they aren't recycled.

 

Regards,

 

John P

 

I think a differentiation needs to be made between 'sharps' that may be contaminated by bodily fluids or medical prescriptions and 'sharps' which have done nothing more than chop up bits of plasticard / wood / etc and are nothing more than slivers of perfectly inert (if sharp) metal.

 

While medical 'sharps' obviously need disposing of in a suitable way, there is no reason why other 'sharps' cannot be disposed of (along with other metal items) for recycling*

 

 

* Note I am not advocating chucking them into a domestic recycling bin - but collecting them in a metal box that then gets placed in a popper metal waste skip.

Edited November 6, 2018 by phil-b259

[Talltim]

My modelling sharps often have blood on them...

[Welchester]

My modelling sharps often have blood on them...

 

Yes. It's strange how modelling often leads to self harm.

[brack]

I just wait until the local police have a knife amnesty, then hand over half a dozen blunt swan Morton blades. I also availed myself of the opportunity to get shot of that one butter knife that somehow appears in the drawer in the kitchen yet doesn't match any set of cutlery we've ever had.

It works well, although the other folk in the queue are a trifle rough looking.

[pH]

My parents bought a house from the first owners. This was in the mid-50s, when razors used single replaceable blades. They renovated the living room, which involved replacing the large wooden fireplace surround with a smaller tiled one. When they pulled the old surround off the wall, 15 years worth of used razor blades, which had been slipped down between the surround and the wall, fell out onto the floor.

[john new]

Having had a beard for over 30 years I rarely buy traditional razor blades these days. In the old days 60s, 70s you slid the used/blunted blades into a slot in the bottom of the little box the blades came in. Do they not still have that?

 

As a side issue can you still buy razor blade holders to make the blade into a small knife? Mine must be knocking on 40 years old but still very useful. 

Edited November 6, 2018 by john new

[newbryford]

 

 

* Note I am not advocating chucking them into a domestic recycling bin - but collecting them in a metal box that then gets placed in a popper metal waste skip.

 

 

I often put used/broken blades in an empty (obviously!) soft drinks can (crush/bend the can to stop them falling out) and then chuck them in our glass/metal recycling bin.........

The old blades often have a bit of masking tape stuck around the pointy bits as well.

 

No complaints from my bin men so far

[grahame]

Except in Fenland (Cambs). The local pharmacies and GP surgeries used to take sharps containers in free of charge, funded by the NHS,but there are pending changes. The local council (like all councils, cash-strapped), apparently is/was to take on the responsibility of collecting sharps containers as it was to no longer be an NHS responsibility. The council came up with a hair brained idea that you could have the boxes (admittedly not necessarily singly) collected - for £8 a time- by a man in a van (suitably trained in handling sealed containers of course). Due to opposition, they have put the idea on hold for an indefinite period, but now the local GP and pharmacy have stopped taking them because they have had no further updates from the council ! You couldn't make it up.

Would it not be more sensible to have central collection points (such as GP or pharmacy maybe?) and let them call to have a van load taken away in one trip? The costs would be much less, and if we had to pay, it surely ought to be pence rather than pounds?

And yes, I also add my knife blades to the box, though mine last ages as I continually re-sharpen them.

Stewart

Have you thought/enquired about dropping off your full sharps bins at the local NHS hospital or health centre?

 

G

[BR60103]

Our garbage department asks that things like these be put in a bag labelled "sharps".  I take them to the dump (recycling centre) along with bags of dead light bulbs. 

One set of X-Acto blades came with a disposal section at the back.

[Il Grifone]

I have a plastic tub (empty skin cream container, relabelled with its new use), in the lid of which I have cut a slot and used sharps go inside. Once it's full I'll start another and the old one will be stored away somewhere sealed and labelled. Disposal is a problem!

[Crantock]

I think its horses for courses.  Me, I just put mine in the waste paper bin.   Shock.  Horror.   But I live on my own, no kids in a set of flats where I empty the bin into "paladin" refuse container that is lifted into the back of a bin lorry.  From there it will go to be recycled and I would be disappointed if there was any manual intervention.  

 

I would take a different approach if I had kids or there were bin liners being carried by dustmen.

[ejstubbs]

I often put used/broken blades in an empty (obviously!) soft drinks can (crush/bend the can to stop them falling out) and then chuck them in our glass/metal recycling bin.........

The old blades often have a bit of masking tape stuck around the pointy bits as well.

 

No complaints from my bin men so far

 

Drinks cans are usually aluminium whereas blades will be steel.  Mixing them up like this may make the waste non-recyclable (and possibly not just yours, but any waste in the load that yours goes in).  I'd be inclined to use a baked bean tin or a soup can that you know is ferrous (you could use a magnet to check).

 

(AIUI metals are commonly sorted for recycling by being shredded and then passed under an electromagnet.  Ferrous metals stick to the magnet, aluminium and alu alloys don't.  I don't know whether the shredders would do enough to completely separate the blades from the remains of the can.  Using a steel can would seem to me to be erring on the side of caution.)

[newbryford]

Drinks cans are usually aluminium whereas blades will be steel.  Mixing them up like this may make the waste non-recyclable (and possibly not just yours, but any waste in the load that yours goes in).  I'd be inclined to use a baked bean tin or a soup can that you know is ferrous (you could use a magnet to check).

 

(AIUI metals are commonly sorted for recycling by being shredded and then passed under an electromagnet.  Ferrous metals stick to the magnet, aluminium and alu alloys don't.  I don't know whether the shredders would do enough to completely separate the blades from the remains of the can.  Using a steel can would seem to me to be erring on the side of caution.)

 

They must do a good job of separating stuff as, for example, cars have many different metals (and other materials) in them when they are crushed and recycled.

[Tony Davis]

Having had a beard for over 30 years I rarely buy traditional razor blades these days. In the old days 60s, 70s you slid the used/blunted blades into a slot in the bottom of the little box the blades came in. Do they not still have that?

 

As a side issue can you still buy razor blade holders to make the blade into a small knife? Mine must be knocking on 40 years old but still very useful. 

Yes, they do, and they also sometimes slip out of them as well.

[ejstubbs]

They must do a good job of separating stuff as, for example, cars have many different metals (and other materials) in them when they are crushed and recycled.

 

Don't think I've ever seen a car in a kerbside recycling bin!

 

I'm not sure that cars are simply crushed these days - at least not without having had all non-ferrous materials stripped out first.  Have a look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_recycling. I'd take the first paragraph with a pinch of salt: it appears to be somewhat simplistic and a bit garbled.  The "Process" paragraph has a much more useful high-level description of the main stages involved in recycling a modern car - and yes, the stripped bodyshells do end up being put through a bl00dy big shredder!

[Campaman]

I got a Metal money box from poundland, ideal for putting used blades in.

 

Simple, cheap and the whole lot can go in metal recycling once its full.

[Pacific231G]

I just use an old  glass coffee jar with a slot cut in the lid. I'm diligent about recycling- I even remove the plastic film from plastic food containers- but in this case I doubt if the amount of recyclable metal involved is worth worrying about. I'm in any case nowhere close to filling it.