Use orange for infectious healthcare waste that is not chemically or medicinally contaminated. Use yellow for infectious waste that is also chemically contaminated. HTM 07-01 sets those colours. The producer’s assessment decides which one the item is. Do not put sharps, loose medicines or non-infectious pads in either bag.
Both bags are infectious waste. The difference is contamination. Orange may go to alternative treatment. Yellow is the stream Environment Agency measures expect to be incinerated unless a permitted site has a specific justification.
If you cannot answer the contamination question, do not guess a cheaper colour. Ask the person who owns the assessment, or describe the item when you enquire. A carrier can refuse a bag that is obviously the wrong colour.
Keep orange and yellow stocks in the room that produces them, not in a cupboard three corridors away. Staff use the nearest bag. Tie bags before they leave the room. Do not nest a yellow bag inside an orange one. Do not tip a sharps bin into either sack to make the bin last longer.
Environment Agency healthcare-waste measures expect chemically contaminated infectious waste to be incinerated unless the permitted facility has a specific justification. Orange infectious waste, without chemicals or medicines, may be suitable for alternative treatment.
Only if the assessment says the waste is orange. Putting chemically contaminated infectious waste in orange is the wrong description.
Keep them apart. A collection can take both if each bag is closed and the quote names both streams.
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