Maximising Efficiency and Sustainability in Healthcare Waste Management:
Rectangular Sharps Containers
Key Design Factors for Sharps
Container Compliance
Material
Durability
Capacity
Limitations
Essential Design
Features
Compared to round
containers
Stackability
and Storage
Better Alignment with Wall and Work Surfaces
Round vs Square Test Findings
The testing focused on four sizes of sharps containers to ensure most areas
of healthcare were represented in the study.
3L Comparison
15.00%
greater mean
capacity across
triplicate samples
5L Comparison
2.53%
greater mean
capacity across
triplicate samples
7L Comparison
33.88%
greater mean
capacity across
triplicate samples
Large Container Comparison
15.29%
greater mean
capacity across
triplicate samples
Sharpsafe® containers held 15.29%
more sharps waste on average*
*30L vs. 22L
The test results provide clear evidence of the capacity advantages that rectangular Sharpsafe® containers offer over round containers across various sizes.
3L Containers
15% increase
5L Containers
2.53% increase
7L Containers
33.88% increase
33L Containers
15.829% increase
Calculate how many less sharps containers you would use each year
3L Containers
Current number of
round containers used
Avg % reduction when
switching to square
Weight per round container (kg)
Weight per square container (kg)
Estimated square containers required: 0
Containers saved: 0
Weight saved: 0 kg
5L Containers
Current number of
round containers used
Avg % reduction when
switching to square
Weight per round container (kg)
Weight per square container (kg)
Estimated square containers required: 0
Containers saved: 0
Weight saved: 0 kg
7L Containers
Current number of
round containers used
Avg % reduction when
switching to square
Weight per round container (kg)
Weight per square container (kg)
Estimated square containers required: 0
Containers saved: 0
Weight saved: 0 kg
22L Containers
Current number of
round containers used
Avg % reduction when
switching to square
Weight per round container (kg)
Weight per square container (kg)
Estimated square containers required: 0
Containers saved: 0
Weight saved: 0 kg
3L Containers
5L Containers
7L Containers
22L Containers
Current number of
round containers used
Avg % reduction when
switching to square
Weight per round container (kg)
Weight per square
container (kg)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 kg
0 kg
0 kg
0 kg
Total weight saved from incineration 0.00 kg
Total number of containers saved 0.00
Download the Sharpsafe® Capacity Whitepaper
Learn more about the independent study conducted by Surgical Material Testing Laboratory (SMTL) evaluating the capacity differences of rectangular and round sharps containers.