Your Legal Obligations Relating to the Provision of Sanitary Bins
Sanitary bins are hygienic, safer, and provide an extra level of comfort for your staff and customers, however, did you know there are also legal obligations governing what you need to provide along these lines?
This page outlines your legal obligations and requirements in terms of providing sanitary bins within your organisation
Provision of Sanitary Bins – Your Obligations
Hygiene Plus Sanitary Bin
If you have business premises with female employees, female visitors from other companies, or female customers, you are obliged to provide sanitary waste facilities. Many companies who are not aware of this legislation may find themselves unconsciously breaking employment law, health & safety law, or environmental law
Your ‘Duty of Care’ means that sanitary waste should be managed to the point of disposal – this legislation even applies to commercial premises where only one female is employed.
Further to this, the Water Industries Act (1991) states that ‘no items should be flushed that could cause a blockage within the sewer or drain’ meaning that this legislation can also apply to items you may not even consider sanitary waste.
All employers are bound by law to provide ‘adequate and appropriate’ washroom facilities for our staff. The following section from Statutory Instrument 1992 No.3004, The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 outlines your obligations
Sanitary Conveniences
20.’
(1) Suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences shall be provided at readily accessible places.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), sanitary conveniences shall not be suitable unless’
(a) the rooms containing them are adequately ventilated and lit;
(b) they and the rooms containing them are kept in a clean and orderly condition; and
(c) separate rooms containing conveniences are provided for men and women except where and so far as each convenience is in a separate room the door of which is capable of being secured from inside.
(3)It shall be sufficient compliance with the requirement in paragraph (1) to provide sufficient sanitary conveniences in a workplace which is not a new workplace, a modification, an extension or a conversion and which, immediately before this regulation came into force in respect of it, was subject to the provisions of the Factories Act 1961, if sanitary conveniences are provided in accordance with the provisions of Part II of Schedule 1.
Washing Facilities
21.
(1) Suitable and sufficient washing facilities, including showers if required by the nature of the work or for health reasons, shall be provided at readily accessible places.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), washing facilities shall not be suitable unless’
(a) they are provided in the immediate vicinity of every sanitary convenience, whether or not provided elsewhere as well;
(b) they are provided in the vicinity of any changing rooms required by these Regulations, whether or not provided elsewhere as well;
(c) they include a supply of clean hot and cold, or warm, water (which shall be running water so far as is practicable);
(d) they include soap or other suitable means of cleaning;
(e) they include towels or other suitable means of drying;
(f) the rooms containing them are sufficiently ventilated and lit;
(g) they and the rooms containing them are kept in a clean and orderly condition; and
(h) separate facilities are provided for men and women, except where and so far as they are provided in a room the door of which is capable of being secured from inside and the facilities in each such room are intended to be used by only one person at a time.
(3) Paragraph (2)(h) shall not apply to facilities which are provided for washing hands, forearms and face only.
Disclaimer
Please note that HYGIENE+ endeavours to keep the information on this page up-to-date and correct, however, as the regulations can change regularly, and despite our best efforts, some of the information here may be out-of-date. The information here is intended to highlight special areas of workplace Health and Safety Law and if offered as a guide only so we cannot be held responsible for any loss or inconvenience you may suffer through the use of this information. For proper compliance and legal information, please consult an expert to ensure compliance with the latest regulations.