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Housekeeping at the retirement home where my mother is living tells her that they will not dispose of her incontinence garbage. I have taken her garbage out before and the garbage bins are across the parking lot and are approximately my height. It would be very dangerous for someone with bad balance and brittle bones to attempt to throw garbage in those containers. I know I could do it for her, but there would be times I couldn't and I worry she would try to do it herself.
Is it appropriate for housekeeping to have such a rule?

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This makes utterly ZERO sense to me and I have never heard of such a thing. I would like you to speak to those in charge about this at once. There are very few elders in retirement homes capable of doing this. Hope you'll update us.
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gdaughter Nov 2019
Sounds to me like the housekeepers are generating rules of their own to avoid doing their job assignments. I'd be talking to management ASAP. It's hard to find good staff...but assuming the waste is bagged well (not heavy, leaking, smelly) I don't see what the issue is. Is your mom "saving" it up so their load is multiple bags? Is there some place a resident can't deposit their trash within the building (like a trash chute?)
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That’s crazy. Can’t imagine any business for the elderly not providing this service
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I've never heard of such a thing! However, is your mother living independently? If so, that may be why they're refusing to dispose of incontinence trash. If she's in Assisted Living, you need to speak to the Executive Director and demand an answer as to why a person requiring ASSISTANCE would be subjected to a DANGEROUS situation such as reaching into a dumpster to throw away a bag of garbage!!
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I can't imagine a policy like this, before you go ballistic speak to management to see if this is real or just some kind of miscommunication.
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I think that I would be talking to management about this.

It doesn't make any sense that they would pick and choose what garbage is being removed by housekeeping.

One thing that I did with my dad was to have him put his used briefs in a plastic bag and tie it, then place it in the trash can that had a bag, that way it was contained and did not smell up his room if it didn't get taken out that day. This was also a courtesy to the people taking the trash out.

I personally think that the reason for housekeeping is to get rid of the issues that could benefit funky.
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Our trash haulers also will not take adult briefs, wipes or gloves if they see them and they are left out in the open in a trash can. This is considered a bio-hazard. I put the briefs, etc. in a plastic grocery bag and then in a black garbage bag. No more issues or refusals.
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gdaughter Nov 2019
Just to add there may be special disposal bags available at a nominal cost...because in our area they are going to do away with grocery bags soon...
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My cousin lives in a retirement home , and she is required to take her garbage out and she uses a walker. She hired a middle aged lady who lives at the home and she pays her to do odd jobs, trash,housekeeping, shopping and other things.
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If its independent living, then yes I can see why. Like said, its biohazard material. Anything where human urine, blood, feces are present can have HIV, hepitis, etc. Housekeeping are not health care workers. They r trying to protect themselves. So, you will need to continue to take Moms trash out for her.

With my Mom, I had a med size trash can with a flip top lid. I lined it with a trash bag. She wore pull ups, so i rolled them up and thru in the trash can. (I had a deodorant disk stuck to the inside of the lid. Once the can was full, I threw the bag in with my trash. Those diaper genies are neat and maybe a good idea.
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Thank you all for your input. I do intend to speak to management at the retirement home. I think securing those items in a sealed bag rather than dumping them loosely in the garbage is what my mom should be doing. I will speak to her as well, to make sure she is being considerate in that way. I will let you know the outcome after I find out what exactly is the problem. Thanks again all.
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gdaughter Nov 2019
Well, now you seem to be indicating the items were loose and odorous...so while I can understand the refusal, saying they couldn't is another matter. It's a matter of communicating and having a way to dispose of things properly. We had a woman one time who was using a hamper and just dumping soiled/wet clothing in and the odor was not only near toxic when lifting the lid (for her homemaker who came every 2 weeks to do laundry), she'd also keep a fabric placemat near her bed if she got up to get to the bathroom and didn't make it in time...the whole area smelled. We had to set some ground rules.
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Well of course she needs to be sealing them in bags, I would have thought that was a given. And these can get heavy, so I suggest she uses several smaller bags rather than one large one.
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I agree, it's an issue that requires a conversation with management. Given as your mom is in a facility specific to "retirement", it seems likely there is a miscommunication somewhere.
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As others have said, the briefs are considered "biohazard." I use a wastebasket lined with a plastic grocery bag. I change the bag after a soiled diaper goes in. The bag is tied up and goes in a separate trash bag. Our garbage is p/u every week and the garbage bag is sealed and put in bin.
Do talk with management as there has to be a solution. No housekeeping should not handle soiled items directly but going to the dumpster is not good for mom
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It’s odd how much “rules” can vary from place to place - when it comes to things like this. Medication seems to be another area effected by said rules and laws.

Anyhoo - my parents IL facility had the residents responsible for the disposal of their own trash. There were rooms at one end of the hall on every floor that had bins for recycling and a chute for dropping the rest of the garbage. The facility did a housekeeper cleaning once a week as a part of the rent. The housekeeper vacuumed and mopped but no garbage.

This same facility had a large AL wing. Residents living there had their garbage picked up every two hours - every day, all day and into the evening. It was a mandatory agreement for AL residents.

I suspect this rule was also a way for the staff to get in and check on the individual - making sure no one was laying on the floor, etc. Regardless, I liked the “rule” as I’m sure it was largely responsible for the place never having that awful ammonia smell so many old folks homes have. I have to admit I’d probably have been less enthusiastic about it - had I been the person having someone walk into my living space every two hours.

But hey, rules are rules...
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Absolutely not! Your monthly fees pay for trash removal? Then incontinence pads are trash! This “rule “ seems totally inappropriate and ridiculous!
Question-was this only one retirement home staff person who told you about not emptying her trash? Could you check your written admissions contract if trash is included
in her monthly fee?
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I am assuming that this is an independent living facility. Would they handle the garbage if it is in sealed plastic bags?
Nancy
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The facility should be handling this type of "trash" just as it is any other trash. Sure, it can be placed in a plastic bag tied shut. But THEY do the duty.
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While I agree that OP’s mom should not have to shlep her trash out herself, the fact of the matter is, “rules is rules” and like used hypodermic needles & other medical waste, used incontinence supplies are a biohazard. OP has indicated that Mom doesn’t wrap up the used items in anything and just tosses them in the trash. No one handles my husband’s items but me and even I still wrap them up and tie them in a trash bag. When hubby was in rehab, each change was wrapped in a bag, and removed by the aides. It was never left out in the open. Before I went to the Director or the management of the facility, I would try simply purchasing some white kitchen trash bags and asking Mom to solve her own problem by wrapping up her used incontinence supplies.
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JoAnn29 Nov 2019
Yes to all u have said. I wonder if they still make those disposable bags for baby diapers. They would be great for Mom to put her diapers in. Then throw them into a lided trash can thats been lined with another trash bag. If I remember correctly, the smelled like baby powder.
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For my mom's incontinence products, we got a large-sized "diaper genie" type contraption. Not only does it keep the bathroom from smelling, it keeps the diapers sealed in a bag. When its full, just tear out the bag and tie the top. The trash haulers at our apartment complex seem to have no issues with it.
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This “rule” makes NO sense at all. Even the thought that a housekeeping department would even THINK to make this absurd rule is unfathomable! I would challenge this by continuing to go up the chain of command until you find someone who does make sense. Unimaginable!
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I just remembered. At Moms AL, the diapers were put in small bags at the time of changing and the CNA took them to the trash.

Again, a housekeeper is not an aide. Not sure if they are required to get shots. Anything with human bodily functions on it is a bio hazard thing. I worked for Visiting Nurse Assoc and cleaned durable equipment when it was returned. I chose to have the Hep B vaccine and Tuberculosis vaccine too. I wore gloves and used a cleaner the EMTs use on the ambulances. I also had to go to a Blood Born Pathogens seminar every year. Which for CNAs is required but probably not for the housekeepers.
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Since Ahimjoy mentioned needIes have to tell u all about what our hospital does.

For a small one-time fee, used to be $10, they give you a syringe box. When that is full, u bring it back and they give you another. In NJ, hospitals and nursing agencies are required to sign up with the state incinerator who pick up once a year or so. Used syringes are burnt up.
If you have syringes you need to get rid of, you take a clean detergent bottle, like Tide, and place the syringes inside. Once full, you duct tape the lid on real well in the regular trash. Do not recycle the bottle.

Another thing is Police Stations are now offering drops offs for pills no longer being used. Do not throw them down the toilet. If not near a Police station, put them in wet coffee grounds. For some reason the coffee dissolves the pills and neutralizes them.

What I learned working for Visiting Nurse facility.
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This rule seems unreasonable to me. It seems like if the diapers were placed in a separate bag that was tied up it shouldn't be an issue. How would they even know what was in the bag?

I have to tell you what I saw recently that I found kind of odd. I was at a shopping center recently trying on a few clothes. When I finished I stopped to use the restroom. Well, in this very nice store on the floor of the stall was a woman's pull up. My first thought was, ewww, gross! Then I thought, it was most likely a senior that did the best that she could by herself. If the diaper fell out of her hands before she could throw it away, she probably could not bend over to pick it up by herself. My mother could not bend over to pick anything up. So, I'm sure their housekeeping department had to pick it up. They use gloves to clean so they are not directly touching anything directly.
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You'd be surprised at the variety of rules there are, and by the variety of people's level of awareness of them. You may well find that it is not only appropriate but actually mandatory for housekeeping to have very strict rules about handling hazardous waste (which is what incontinence garbage is).

That you've never come across a problem before doesn't mean a thing. It was news to me that used pads and diapers are required by our local bye-laws to be double-bagged and placed in a specific bin, but back when I was cheerfully throwing these out by the dozen (single-bagged, not loose) nobody had told me any different - even though I had contacted my local council to ask about special refuse collections and what I ought to do (they sent us a bigger bin!).

But never mind. Since housekeeping won't do this, you need to speak to the retirement home's management and ask them what the correct procedure is. There must BE one. Many of the residents will have this issue to deal with, and they can't all be managing it unassisted.

While you're at it, ask the managers to speak to the head of housekeeping so that next time - instead of telling a resident "we're not doing that" - the staff explain to the resident what she *should* do. It could be as simple as using the right type of bin and liner, or something.
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