What term refers to waste items designed to cut or puncture skin and sharps contaminated with human blood and body fluids?

• A. Hazardous glass and plastics
• B. Sharps
• C. Non-hazardous trash
• D. Waste or surplus chemicals

Answer: (B)

Sharps are waste items designed to cut or puncture skin, and any waste contaminated with human blood or body fluids. This category includes needles, syringes, scalpels, lancets, and broken glass, which pose a risk of injury and exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Because of that risk, they must be disposed of in puncture-resistant sharps containers and managed through proper medical or hazardous waste programs. This is what sets them apart from general hazardous glass and plastics, non-hazardous trash, or chemical waste, which either aren’t designed to pierce the skin or aren’t necessarily contaminated with blood or body fluids.