Vernacare has launched a range of safer, bigger, and greener Sharpsafe containers. The 5L and 7L containers include features designed to provide enhanced protection from needlestick injuries – one of the most common occupational hazards for healthcare workers worldwide – while also reducing their environmental impact.
The new range has been engineered with 100 per cent recycled plastic base, are wider, with a larger capacity, meaning they will be in use for longer before disposal.
A new innovation is the Dual Protect Pro safety feature. This integrated safety shield helps to avoid contents spilling while also encouraging horizontal fill to maximise capacity. Rounding out the new product’s environmental credentials is their manufacture using new energy-efficient machinery, for a lower footprint during the production process.
The new 5L and 7L Sharpsafe containers are:
- Safer: Dual Safe Pro is a first of its kind, fully integrated, strong, flexible and durable safety shield. It stops contents from spilling from the container and prevents users’ from placing their hands inside the container. In addition, the containers are penetration resistant to the ISO 23907-1 standard.
- Bigger: The new Sharpsafe containers have been designed to maximise capacity, and so minimise the overall number of containers used. The new 7L model, for example, has 13 per cent greater capacity than its predecessor, and 18% greater than existing, round 7L containers.
- Greener: The new models feature an industry-leading locally-sourced recycled polypropylene base, which has a much lower carbon footprint than virgin plastic – resulting in a 94 per cent reduction in CO2. Adaptions to the manufacturing process, which have included more energy efficient machines and automated packing and stacking, have reduced the products’ carbon footprint even further. Virgin plastic cannot be totally eliminated in the lids, but Vernacare has reduced its use by 16 per cent.
Vernacare CEO Alex Hodges said: “Sharps containers have long been a crucial part of the risk mitigation strategy, but they tend to be a high-volume item constructed from virgin plastic, giving them a significantly high carbon footprint.
“This must change, and we know our customers are actively looking for ways to become more sustainable, without compromising on safety. Our new 5L and 7L Sharpsafe containers offer enhanced healthcare worker protection that doesn’t cost the Earth.”
