Are at home Covid tests treated as a biohazard when used?
Or are they tossed in the trash?
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9 Answers
I tossed them in the trash.
The directions specify to just toss. If you are concerned, you can wrap it up first.
Normal trash.
In a professional setting they’d be disposed of as clinical waste but that’s down to the specific rules and regulations that govern that sort of area.
Tests come with a little plastic bag. You can put the swabs etc in the bag and seal it before putting it all in the trash. I don’t think it makes much difference whether you use the bag or not especially if you test negative.
They are no more dangerous than a home pregnancy test.
If you can toss a used tissue used by someone with COVID in the trash, you should be able to do the same with a test.
Or are you talking about the ingredients in the test itself without nasal swab sample?
It’s not dangeorus. It’s sealed in cardboard already and virus won’t live there very long.
The front door knob or the remote control is far more dangerous.
The waste from these tests are not categorized as a biohazard.
The British Government instructions for disposing of these uses tests are as follows:
‘If you’re doing a home rapid lateral flow test, you should dispose of the used rapid lateral flow kit in your waste bin at home or at work. Used test kit items could include the:
swab
test strip
sachet
extraction tube
Separate the used rapid lateral flow kit from any recyclable material and recycle it, if possible. Recyclable material could include the:
cardboard packaging
cardboard tube holder
paper instruction booklet
This is following advice from the British National Health Service.
Of course other countries have their own advice for the disposal of these used tests.
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