Needle Sweeps and Sharps Removal

Please note we do not provide a free sharps collection and disposal service or sharps box replacement service.

Needle Sweeps and Sharps Removal

Drugs Den and Void Property Clearance

Cannabis Farm Clearance and Cleaning

Sharps and Needle Sweeps and Searches

Any waste item that has the potential to puncture or pierce the skin is classified as a sharp. This includes:

• Syringes
• Hypodermic needles
• Knives
• Razors
• Scissors
• Scalpels
• Broken glass

These items must be handled with the utmost care, by trained personnel, and  disposed of in accordance with government legislation, preventing a risk to anyone else.

A huge number of void properties are used as drug dens (places where drug users use drugs), with little mind for the mess left behind, or the people that have to clean up afterwards.

Needles may be found on the ground, or surfaces, or in especially brutal scenes, stuck under handrails, toilet seats, door handles and other touch-points.

Whether in an urban or rural setting, our expert team will be very happy to help. Ensuring the safety of you, your tenants, the public and ourselves is our main priority when it comes to the handling of sharps and paraphernalia, which is why we deploy specialist protective equipment to ensure a safe and thorough operation.

To complement our needle sweep services we also provide Squatter Cleaning Services.

Sharps present a significant health risk as they can carry infectious pathogens like HIV and Hepatitis B. Exposure to these viruses can cause severe and fatal health complications.

Our skin acts as an effective barrier to these pathogens, but sharps can easily break the skin, opening you up to infection from the environment, or introducing infection into the body directly.

You must protect yourself, your employees and visitors against this risk.

Sharps must be collected by a professional sharps disposal company -  we always recommend leaving sharps in-situ, vacating the area and calling a service with trained personnel and stringent safe-handling practices.

Sharps present an infection risk due to breaking the skin-barrier and introducing Blood-Borne Viruses (BBVs).

Hepatitis-B / Hepatitis-C

Hepatitis means “inflammation of the liver”, and the viruses can lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer. Damage to the liver reduces its ability to function.

Hepatitis-B can survive in a syringe for at least 7 days.

Hepatitis-C can survive in a syringe for up to 63 days,.

Whilst advancements in HIV prevention and treatment are incredible, meaning an undetectable individual cannot pass it on, you must presume that any needle could be contaminated.

HIV can survive inside a used syringe for up to 42 days.  If you receive a needlestick injury, it may be recommended that you take a course of post-exposure prophylaxis, to prevent contracting HIV.

It's unlikely that the injury will cause infection, especially in a community setting (i.e. the needle is not from a known HIV-positive individual), however low-risk does not mean no-risk. 

Hepatitis means “inflammation of the liver”, and the viruses can lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer. Damage to the liver reduces its ability to function.

Hepatitis-B can survive in a syringe for at least 7 days.

Hepatitis-C can survive in a syringe for up to 63 days,.

The following is extracted from the NHS website on Needlestick Injury. 

If you pierce or puncture your skin with a used needle, follow this first aid advice immediately:

• encourage the wound to bleed, ideally by holding it under running water
• wash the wound using running water and plenty of soap
• do not scrub the wound while you're washing it
• do not suck the wound
• dry the wound and cover it with a waterproof plaster or dressing

You should seek urgent medical advice for your GP, NHS 111 or A&E as you may need treatment to reduce the risk of getting an infection.