Diaper Pails
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Nursery & Baby Products · CPSC Code 1528
Down 25% over 5 years
The verdict
Diaper Pails carry a danger score of 22/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 76 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 25% over the last five years.
- 22/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 76
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 0.0%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1528 - last data year 2023.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 22/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for diaper pails - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume76 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)0.0%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-25%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Diaper Pails (CPSC product code 1528, in the Nursery & Baby Products category) generate an estimated 76 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 991 ER-treated injuries across the 18-year span from 2006 to 2023. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 22/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 25% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2012 (194 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2016 (5 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for diaper pails is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 201 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (190 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 744 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 0.0% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how diaper pails fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2023-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2006–2023)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 444 | 300 | |
| 15-24 | 0 | 86 | |
| 25-34 | 0 | 77 | |
| 35-44 | 0 | 87 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Upper Leg | Fracture | |
| Elbow | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Foot | Strain, Sprain | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Finger | Avulsion | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Derma/conjunct | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Toe | Crushing | |
| Finger | Other | |
| Not Stated/unk | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
3yom sitting on a *** at home, fell off landing on rt elbow on the floor. Dx: contusion elbow
4YOM TO ER FOR EVAL OF HEAD INJURY & ONSET VOMITING THIS MORNING AT SCHOOL, PT FELL FORWARD & HIT HEAD ON METAL DIAPER CAN, PER MOM PT HAS HAD 10 EPISODES OF VOMITING SINCE 9AM DX HEAD TRAUMA, VOMITING IN CHILD, NASAL CONGESTION
12 MOM IN DAD'S ARMS AND FELL OUT AND HIT HEAD ON DIAPER GENIE DX: CLOSED HEAD INJ
19 MO F CUT HAND ON DIAPER PAIL AT DAYCARE. DX: SKIN AVULSION R FIFTH DIGIT.
9 MO M CLIMBED ON TOP OF DIAPER PAIL & FELL 3 FT ONTO ROCK TILE FLOOR. DX: HEAD CONT.
20 MOF WITH RASH TO GROIN THAT IS SPREADING, HAS HAD DIARRHEA, DX: CANDIDIAL DIAPER RASH
10MO F PULLED DIAPER PAIL OFF CHANGING TABLE;DX FOREHEAD LAC
14MOM CRYING IN BEDROOM, MOTHER FOUND PT NEAR DIAPER BUCKET, THINKS PT CLOSED LID ON FIFTH RIGHT FINGER, SWELLING/BRUISING; DX FINGER INJURY
8MOF NO INJURY FELL FROM CHANGING TABLE HITTING PLASTIC DIAPER PAIL
11MOM DIAPER GENIE CONTAINER FELL ON HIM; DX CRUSH INJURY TOE
40YOF STUMBED BACKWARDS OVER DIAPER PALE FELL STRIKING SIDE OF FACEON AND END TABLE;FACIAL LACERATION
14 MONTH FEMALE CLIMBING ON DIAPER PAIL, SLIPPED, HIT MOUTH ON DIAPER PAIL AND SUSTAINED A SUPERFICIAL LACERATION TO MOUTH
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to diaper pails on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are diaper pails?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, diaper pails have a danger score of 22/100 (low risk). An estimated 76 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from diaper pails?
The most common injury is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 201 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from diaper pails increasing or decreasing?
Down 25% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for diaper pails injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 744 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by diaper pails?
Of all ER visits involving diaper pails, approximately 0.0% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (100.0%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with diaper pails?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Nursery & Baby Products
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 22/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
