The UK tattoo industry has enjoyed a fantastic boom over recent years. We reckon the growing rate is about 6.5% a year over the past decade, which means tattooists in the UK are projected to earn £700 million in 2025.
The Number of Tattoos
- A July 2024 YouGov poll reckons about 24% of GB adults now sport at least one tattoo — roughly 13 million people. YouGov
- Government risk-assessment docs used for the new UK-REACH ink regulations estimate the average number of fresh tattoos created last year at 750,000!
- That’s two new tattoos started every minute of every day, all year long.
- We reckon that’s about 20 baths full of tattoo ink.
- And 2 million needles to dispose of!!
What happens to the 2 million tattoo needles?
- 100% must be disposed of professionally
- 70% get cooked and melted at 1,100 degree centigrade
- 30% sterilised in pressurised steam and shredded
Step by Step Needle Journey
1. Point-of-use: Snapped off the machine and dropped straight into rigid orange-lid sharps bins.
2. Licensed collection: When bins hit ¾ full, a Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser-certified carrier (us!) picks them up under a consignment note.
3. Treatment: Needles and any biohazard are destroyed / made safe by incineration or steam and shredding.
4. End-of-life: Needles are now either ash or melted metal, ready for landfill or recycling
5. Recycling: More and more needles are recycled and Anway does everything we can to avoid landfill.
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The Tattoo Waste People
It’s not glamorous, that’s the job of the tattoo artist, but we are important for tattoo waste disposal. Anway is one of the licensed companies that can safely dispose of:
Types of Waste:
- Sharps: Needles and razors.
- Clinical Waste: Items contaminated with blood or bodily fluids, like gloves and wipes.
- Chemical Waste: Leftover inks and cleaning agents.
To get a quote call our super efficient team and we’d genuinely love to help.
📞 0114 248 7649
📧 enquiries@anwaywashrooms.co.uk