Sharps Handling And Disposal SWMS

Product Overview

This SWMS covers sharps handling and disposal from planning and identifying sharps through to retrieval, containment, cleaning, exposure response and review. It supports planning and risk management for punctures, blood and body substances, contaminated equipment, unsecured waste and access control.

Activities & Specific Tasks Covered

This document includes task-specific risk controls for:

• Plan the task and consult workers
• Prepare the work area, access arrangements and collection equipment
• Inspect PPE and sharps collection equipment
• Identify and assess found sharps
• Retrieve discarded sharp objects
• Dispose of used procedure sharps
• Manage sharps in waste bags and containers
• Pack, seal and store sharps containers securely
• Transfer sharp waste for collection
• Clean contaminated work areas
• Respond to sharps exposure and complete review records

Who is this for?

Suitable for contractors, workers, supervisors and businesses handling or disposing of sharps.

Specific Job Steps & Hazards Covered

Legislation & References

The template includes references relevant to the documented work, including:

• Applicable Commonwealth, state or territory WHS/OHS legislation and regulations.
• Model Code of Practice: How to manage work health and safety risks.
• Model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance only; confirm adoption and application in the relevant jurisdiction).
• Model Code of Practice: First aid in the workplace (guidance only; confirm adoption and application in the relevant jurisdiction).
• AS 4031: Non-reusable containers for the collection of sharp medical items used in health care areas.
• AS/NZS 4261: Reusable containers for the collection of sharp items in human and animal medical applications.
• Applicable state or territory environmental protection, clinical-waste transport and disposal requirements. The biological-hazards guidance requires clinical waste to be separated at its source and placed in secure, labelled, puncture- and leak-resistant containers.
• The first-aid guidance identifies immediate disposal by the user into a rigid-wall, puncture-resistant sharps container and references AS 4031 and AS/NZS 4261.

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Standard SWMS Features (Click to Expand)

• Task-specific job steps, hazards and control measures
• Initial and residual risk ratings
• Assigned responsible persons for each job step
• Plant, equipment and PPE requirements where applicable
• Permits, qualifications and high-risk construction work details where applicable
• Worker consultation, sign-off and review sections