Where To Take Your Sharps Container

In the united states the states where these drop boxes are most common are california florida massachusetts michigan mississippi new jersey new york and wisconsin.

Where to take your sharps container.

Sharps must be in puncture proof containers sharps container coffee cans detergent bottles etc. Sharps that retract after use or are very small should be disposed of like all other sharps. Do not put used needles or other sharps in. Sharps should never be thrown loosely into the trash or toilet.

The floor is not specified as a prohibitive location in the niosh document referenced in the post above. A sharps container is a hard plastic container that is used to safely dispose of hypodermic needles and other sharp medical instruments such as iv catheters and disposable scalpels. If you have a medical condition such as diabetes and use needles at home your local council may be responsible for collecting your full sharps bin. They hold a large number of syringes and can be returned to a participating pharmacy for safe disposal.

Find your local council. If a trash collector is reluctant to collect a red sharps container refer them to your state waste agency. Local councils can charge for this service but most do not. Do not use other bins.

Put the plastic container in the household trash don t recycle. Visit website for contact info. Check with your insurance provider to. The answer to this might be somewhat surprising but in most us states you re allowed to throw your sealed sharps container in the household trash bin not in the recycle bin.

They are often sealable and self locking as well as rigid which prevents waste from penetrating or damaging the sides of the container. However in other areas hospitals or doctor s offices may only take containers from their own patients. You can find out more from your local council s website. The fda recommends that used needles and other sharps be immediately placed in fda cleared sharps disposal containers.

You may be able to drop off your sharps disposal containers at collections sites such as doctors ofices hospitals pharmacies health departments medical waste facilities and police or ire. The containers are also a safe way to store used sharps for pick up or mail back services available from several private waste companies. However you are not allowed to place sharps in the household trash in california massachusetts certain parts of washington and a few other areas so it s important to know your local rules. Any type of household bin for example a general rubbish bin or a recycling bin a container that s no longer needed such as a drinks.

Floor location is not ideal for small sharps disposal containers but for large containers it could be both safe and practical if there are precautions taken against tipping it over.