You may already know that Feminine Hygiene Disposal is a controlled waste but did you know that this means that sanitary waste must be disposed of in a manner than is governed by strict legislation? If you are a business owner then you need to be aware that there is a responsibility for all businesses of any size to adhere to these legislation for the welfare of their employees, visitors and customers. This includes every enterprise, whether you are an office, factory, warehouse, or a gym, you need to comply even if there is only a single female present at the premises.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulation 1992 specifies that all companies are required to provide a suitable means for the disposal of sanitary dressings in ladies washrooms. It specifically states, “in the case of water closets used by women, suitable means should be provided for the disposal of sanitary dressings”.
This means that washroom cubicles should contain a sanitary unit or at the very least, another form of bin suitable for the disposal of sanitary waste. If you cannot provide a unit in every cubicle, you must put up some sort of notice or information that states which cubicles do have one.
The other piece of legislation that you need to be aware of is the Duty of Care Act. This states that all sanitary waste is managed to the point of disposal. This means that until the waste is incinerated or otherwise legally disposed of, it remains your responsibility. If you chose to use a waste management of Hygiene Company to dispose of your sanitary waste, they must be licensed. If not, and the waste ends up dumped somewhere, causing a biological and environmental hazard, you can still be prosecuted.
In order to best protect yourself, ensure that the company you use to dispose of your sanitary and other waste, issues you with a waste transfer notice upon collection of the bins. This notice transfers the liability of the waste from you to them. They can also provide you with purpose built Feminine Hygiene Disposal bins to ensure that you are offering your staff exactly what is expected of you. They will arrange collection of the waste depending on the usage of the bins. This means that you only have to pay for what you need and most importantly that you are no longer liable for the waste and ultimately helps you to rest assured that you have complied with the tough legislation.