Have you stumbled upon a significant amount of disposable PPE littered throughout your neighbourhood lately? If your outdoor walks have been interrupted by face masks and gloves left on the ground more than once, you’ve likely thought of better ways people could have disposed of their PPE. Where do you dispose of PPE? The good news is that proper disposal is easy. Just follow this simple guide:  

What to do with contaminated PPE

Before we get into how to properly dispose of PPE. It is important to understand how to safely remove contaminated personal protective equipment. Be sure not to touch these areas of potentially contaminated PPE during removal:
  • The outside of your gloves
  • The outside of your goggles or face shield
  • The front of your face mask
  • The front and sleeves of your gown or apron
After taking off these personal protective items, it is a good idea to wash your hands or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer as an added precaution.  

Proper disposal of PPE at home

how to dispose of pp at your business                     Ideally, machine washable masks and biodegradable gloves are the best combination to use for environmentally friendly PPE. Although we understand this is not always a viable option.  Unfortunately, disposable PPE cannot be recycled which means for home-use you’ll have to take these precautions to dispose of household PPE:
  1. Throw all contaminated PPE in a lidded or covered waste bin lined with a garbage bag
  2. Keep used or discarded PPE out of reach from children and pets
  3. Be sure not to overfill trash cans or waste receptacles to allow for easy removal and closure of the waste bin liner

How to dispose of PPE at your business

Dispose PPE                   Under low risk conditions you can take the same precautions as you would at home. However, under higher risk conditions, you should incorporate the following safety methods into your workplace practices:
  1. Implement dedicated bins or containers to dispose of PPE
  2. Clearly mark the waste receptacles with the appropriate PPE signage
  3. Train workers on the proper removal and disposal of contaminated PPE
  4. Inform PPE waste handlers on how to dispose of PPE safely when the bins are full
If a high risk condition occurs such as a test revealing multiple symptomatic or asymptomatic employees have become infected, a medical waste removal service will be required for proper PPE disposal.  

Discarding PPE commercially

How to dispose PPE                   Here at CleanRiver recycling solutions, we are always finding new ways to help business owners make the most of their building space. Our customizable commercial recycling containers allow you to implement quick and easy alternatives to a typical commercial trash can. Consider setting up a sanitation station for your business today so disposal of PPE at your workplace is no longer a hassle.  

Looking for more PPE disposal tips? Check out these other blogs: 

How To Set Up a Sanitation Station for Business 2 Sanitation Solutions for Your Facility How to Dispose of Plastic Gloves & 5 Steps to Set Up a Plastic Glove Recycling Station   bottom banner CleanRiver Recycling provides a variety of innovative, flexible, and customizable recycling solutions. To determine the right solution to meet your needs, use the CleanRiver product selector. If you have additional questions that weren’t answered in this blog post please call us at 1-866-479-4038 or email solutions@cleanriver.com.