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Clinical Waste Disposal Company

Licensed collection contracts for dental, GP, veterinary, tattoo, beauty and care practices. Start with the chart: eight colours, each with its own container, route and code.

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ColourStreamWhat goes in itWhere it goesWaste code
OrangeOrangeOrange bags; sharps bins with orange lidsInfectious waste with no medicines in it: dressings and swabs with body fluids, used gloves and aprons from infectious care, needles used only for blood tests or tattoo work.Alternative treatment (heat or chemical) or incineration18 01 03*
YellowYellowYellow bags; sharps bins with yellow lidsInfectious waste that must be burned: sharps used to give medicines (injections, vaccines, toxin and filler), infectious waste with chemical or medicine contamination.High-temperature incineration only18 01 03* with 18 01 09
PurplePurplePurple bags, bins and sharps lidsAnything contaminated with cytotoxic or cytostatic drugs: chemotherapy, some hormone and antiviral treatments, and the sharps, vials and gloves used to give them.High-temperature incineration only18 01 08* (with 18 01 03* if infectious)
RedRedRed-lidded rigid binsAnatomical waste: tissue, body parts, placentas and extracted teeth without amalgam where the practice sends them as anatomical, plus blood bags and preserved specimens.Incineration only18 01 02 (18 01 03* if infectious)
BlueBlueBlue-lidded rigid binsUnwanted medicines that are not cytotoxic: out-of-date stock, part-used packs, returned tablets, liquids and inhalers, kept in their packaging.Incineration18 01 09
WhiteWhiteWhite pots with a mercury suppressantDental amalgam and mercury: spent capsules, waste amalgam, separator contents and extracted teeth with amalgam fillings.Mercury recovery18 01 10*
Yellow and black (tiger)Yellow and black (tiger)Yellow bags with black stripesOffensive or hygiene waste that is not infectious: incontinence pads, nappies, sanitary waste, gloves, aprons and wipes with no infection risk.Energy from waste or landfill18 01 04 (20 01 99 outside healthcare)
Black or clearBlack or clearBlack or clear bags, normal trade waste binsOrdinary waste with nothing clinical in it: paper towels from hand washing, packaging, food and office waste.Trade waste: recycling, energy from waste or landfill20 03 01

Colours from NHS England's HTM 07-01 and the Environment Agency's healthcare waste packaging colour table. Codes are for human healthcare; vets use the matching 18 02 codes. An asterisk marks a hazardous code.

Read the contract before the price

Clinical waste is a recurring bill for as long as the practice is open, so the terms usually matter more than the first-year price. These are the clauses practice managers most often wish they had checked.

Compare contract prices

Contract length
Commonly one to three years for a small practice, sometimes rolling monthly. A longer term can buy a lower price, but only sign one you can leave if the service fails.
Automatic renewal and notice
Many contracts renew on their own unless you give written notice, often 90 days or more before the end date. Put the date in the diary the day you sign.
Collection frequency
Weekly or fortnightly for care homes and busy surgeries, every four weeks for most dental and GP practices, every eight to twelve weeks for small studios and clinics. Missed collections should be reported and credited.
What the price covers
Container rental or supply, each collection, treatment, the consignment note and any yearly duty of care or compliance charge. Ask for each as a separate line so two quotes can be compared.
Price reviews
Look for how and when the price can rise, whether it is tied to an index, and whether a rise lets you leave without penalty.
Pre-acceptance audit
Who carries it out, how often and whether it is included or charged separately.

Clinical waste disposal by type of practice

Each practice type produces its own mix of streams. Pick yours for the containers, rules and typical costs that apply.

By waste stream: sharps bin collection, offensive and hygiene waste, pharmaceutical waste.

What clinical waste collection costs

You pay for what you fill and how often it goes. Council tariffs are the clearest published benchmark, because private contractors price per customer. All figures exclude VAT unless stated.

  • £15 to £60 a month for a single treatment room, beauty or aesthetics clinic
  • £15 to £45 a month for a standard dental package
  • £8 to £25 per sack or container collected

Monthly and per-container ranges from published UK clinical waste price comparisons, autumn 2026. A guide, not a quote.

Estimate your yearly cost

South Derbyshire District Council, commercial clinical and hygiene waste, 2026/27
ContainerChargedPrice
Clinical waste sack, with disposalper sack£18.01
240 litre clinical waste bin, with disposalper weekly lift£52.75
360 litre clinical waste bin, with disposalper weekly lift£78.21
660 litre clinical waste bin, with disposalper weekly lift£144.01
1,100 litre clinical waste bin, with disposalper weekly lift£237.19
Hygiene waste sack, with disposalper sack£3.20
240 litre hygiene waste bin, with disposalper weekly lift£9.61
Where these figures come from

Council tariff from the South Derbyshire District Council fees and charges, read November 2026; VAT is charged "where applicable". For scale, NHS integrated care boards published awards for GP and pharmacy clinical waste such as £232,592 for 150 sites in Norfolk and Waveney over an initial four months.

Your duty of care, on one page

The practice that produces clinical waste stays responsible for it until it is treated. This is the file an inspector, an auditor or your own contractor will ask to see.

  1. Segregate at source

    Bags and bins in the right colour in every room, sharps bins closed at the fill line and labelled.

  2. Store it securely

    A locked bin, cupboard or compound between collections, out of reach of the public and pests.

  3. Use a registered carrier

    Check the carrier registration and the treatment site's permit on the public register before you sign.

  4. Keep the notes

    Consignment notes for hazardous waste for three years; transfer notes for offensive and general waste for two.

  5. Keep the audit current

    A pre-acceptance audit, in person, every one, two or five years depending on what and how much you produce.

Where our information comes from

How a collection contract gets set up

  1. Tell us the practice

    Postcode, practice type, the streams you produce, roughly how much, and any current contract end date.

  2. Meet your contractor

    We find a licensed clinical waste contractor that collects in your postcode, and tell you who it is before passing anything on.

  3. Containers and a written price

    They confirm bins and bags for each stream, a collection round and the contract terms in writing.

  4. First collection

    Containers arrive, collections start, and every visit leaves a note for your duty of care file.

Clinical waste disposal questions

What is clinical waste?

Waste from healthcare or similar work that could cause infection, or that contains medicines or other chemicals: used sharps, dressings and swabs with body fluids, medicines and anatomical waste. Most of it is hazardous waste in law. Non-infectious waste such as incontinence pads is offensive waste, which is not hazardous (GOV.UK, classifying waste).

Who needs a clinical waste disposal contract?

Any business that produces clinical waste: dental, GP and private medical practices, vets, care and nursing homes, pharmacies, tattoo and piercing studios, beauty and aesthetics clinics, physiotherapists, podiatrists and schools or offices with first aid sharps. The council does not collect commercial clinical waste as part of ordinary trade waste.

How much does clinical waste disposal cost?

Published comparisons put a single treatment room or beauty clinic at about £15 to £60 a month and a dental practice at £15 to £45 a month before VAT. Larger sites pay per lift: one council charges £52.75 a week for a 240 litre clinical bin. Try our cost estimator.

What paperwork do I need for clinical waste?

A hazardous waste consignment note for every collection of hazardous clinical waste, kept for three years, and a waste transfer note for offensive and general waste, kept for two years. You also need a current pre-acceptance audit and evidence that your contractor is a registered carrier (GOV.UK).

What is HTM 07-01?

Health Technical Memorandum 07-01 is NHS England's guidance on managing healthcare waste. Its 2022 edition sets the colour code most UK practices and contractors use: orange, yellow, purple, red, blue, white, tiger and black. It is best practice rather than law, but contractors and inspectors work to it (NHS England).

How often should clinical waste be collected?

Often enough that closed sharps bins and full bags do not build up in your store. In practice that is weekly for care homes, every two to four weeks for most surgeries and every eight to twelve weeks for small studios and clinics.

Has digital waste tracking changed anything for practices?

Not yet for producers. Mandatory digital waste tracking began with permitted receiving sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in October 2026, and carriers and brokers follow later. Consignment and transfer notes are still required (Environment Agency).

Get clinical waste collection prices

Three short steps: where the practice is, what you produce, and how to reach you. It takes about two minutes and nothing is booked.

This is a free matching service, not a waste contractor. We find a licensed clinical waste contractor that collects in your postcode and tell you its name first. No contractor calls until you agree.

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Where is the practice?
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