Why Facilities Are Rethinking Their Sharps Disposal Provider in 2026
24 September 2026
Changing a healthcare supplier is rarely a decision made lightly.
There are contracts to consider, established workflows to review, staff to train and operational requirements to maintain. For healthcare facilities, continuity matters.
But that does not mean existing systems should never be questioned.
Healthcare is changing. Standards evolve, sustainability expectations are increasing, models of care are shifting and healthcare organisations are placing greater emphasis on products and suppliers that support safety, efficiency and long-term value.
For facilities reviewing their sharps management systems in 2026, the question does not necessarily need to be, “Should we change providers?”
A more useful starting point may be:
“Does our current system still meet the needs of our healthcare workers, our organisation and the people we care for?”
Compliance is the starting point, not the finish line
A reliable sharps management system must begin with appropriate products and compliance with relevant requirements.
But compliance alone does not tell the whole story.
Healthcare facilities also need to consider how equipment performs in real clinical environments. Is it practical to use? Is it appropriately sized for different departments? Does the range accommodate different workflows? Are staff confident using the features? Can the organisation access consistent supply when it needs it?
These questions move the conversation from simply having compliant equipment to evaluating whether the overall system supports safe practice.
Does the product support the workflow?
The best equipment should support the realities of healthcare.
That does not mean new products should require no training. Introducing new features or equipment often provides an opportunity for teams to review existing practices and strengthen safer workflows.
The important question is whether the supplier supports that transition.
Training, trials and education can help healthcare workers understand how products are intended to be used and give organisations an opportunity to identify potential challenges before broader implementation.
This is particularly important when equipment has features that differ from what staff have previously used.
Sarah’s experience managing sharps for her young son James provides a useful reminder. She recalls discovering that some sharps containers could permanently lock once closed, saying, “I wasn’t aware that sometimes if you shut some of them they lock and you can’t reopen them.”
Her experience is understandable, particularly for someone learning to manage a completely new aspect of healthcare at home.
It also highlights a broader point: even a well-designed product needs to be accompanied by clear information and appropriate education.
Is the range flexible enough?
Healthcare facilities rarely have a single workflow.
Different departments may have different volumes of sharps, physical spaces and clinical requirements. A facility may also need solutions that support mobile teams, outpatient areas, aged care environments or community programs.
A supplier should therefore be able to have a conversation about the broader range, rather than focusing on a single product.
Capacity, portability, placement, storage requirements and intended use all influence product selection.
The goal is not to standardise everything unnecessarily. It is to create enough consistency to support safe practice while allowing solutions to respond to genuine differences between environments.
Can your supplier substantiate its sustainability claims?
Sustainability is now an increasingly important consideration in healthcare procurement. But facilities should look beyond broad environmental claims and consider how sustainability is demonstrated in practice.
Queensland provides a useful example of how these expectations are evolving.
The Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 calls for sustainable procurement practices and considers environmental outcomes as part of a broader approach to value for money. It does not, however, mandate the purchase of recycled-content sharps containers or establish a universal recycled-content percentage. Instead, it provides a framework in which environmental outcomes can form part of procurement decisions.
Queensland Government procurement guidance goes a step further by providing practical questions for buyers to consider. Its model product sustainability criteria ask suppliers whether products contain recycled content, and ask them to specify the percentage of total recycled content and the percentage that is post-consumer recycled content. Suppliers may also be asked what types of post-consumer materials are used.
For procurement teams, this represents an important shift.
The question is no longer simply whether a product can be described as sustainable. Organisations can increasingly ask suppliers to provide specific, verifiable information about the materials used and the environmental benefits being claimed.
Queensland Health’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2024–2026 also supports this direction, including an action to locally source reprocessing, procurement and recycled-content products where possible, alongside broader objectives around waste reduction, recovery and a circular economy.
For a sharps container manufacturer, sustainability must always sit alongside safety and performance. Recycled content does not replace the need for a product to meet applicable standards, quality requirements and clinical expectations.
For healthcare organisations, this creates an opportunity to ask better questions of their suppliers: What is the recycled content? Can it be substantiated? How does it affect product performance? What evidence supports the claim?
A supplier that can answer these questions clearly provides more than a sustainability statement. It provides procurement teams with information they can actually use.
Can your supplier support change?
Perhaps one of the most important questions is not about the container at all.
It is about the relationship.
Healthcare organisations are constantly evolving. New standards, new models of care, workforce changes and sustainability priorities can all influence what facilities need from their suppliers.
A supplier that simply delivers products may meet a basic requirement.
A partner who listens, provides education, supports trials, responds to feedback and works collaboratively with healthcare teams can contribute much more.
That relationship can be particularly valuable when introducing new equipment.
Change is easier when healthcare workers understand why it is happening, have an opportunity to experience the new system and know where to turn when questions arise.
What should facilities ask in 2026?
Rather than assuming a provider needs to be replaced, healthcare facilities can use a regular review to ask whether their current system continues to meet their needs.
Is the equipment compliant and appropriate for its intended use?
Does the product range accommodate different clinical environments?
Are products supported by appropriate training and implementation guidance?
Does the supplier provide trials and opportunities for healthcare teams to provide feedback?
Can the organisation maintain reliable supply across its locations?
Does the product design support efficient storage and transport?
Can sustainability claims be clearly evidenced?
Most importantly, does the supplier listen to the people actually using the products?
These questions provide a more meaningful assessment than price alone.
Looking beyond the product
The decision to work with a sharps container provider is ultimately about more than the container itself.
It is about the systems, information and support surrounding the product, and whether they continue to meet the needs of a changing healthcare environment.
For procurement teams, this means looking at the full picture: compliance, safety, usability, sustainability, supply reliability, education and long-term partnership.
At Sharpsafe, we believe reviewing a sharps management system should be an opportunity for conversation, not a sales exercise. Healthcare organisations know their environments and their teams best, and manufacturers have a responsibility to listen, learn and respond to those realities. Our goal is to work alongside healthcare professionals and administrators to provide reliable sharps solutions, practical support and thoughtful design that contribute to safer, more sustainable workflows. Because in 2026, choosing a sharps supplier is about more than the container. It is about choosing the level of support, collaboration and commitment that surrounds it.
