Sharps disposal

Safely throw out needles, lancets, and EpiPens.

Never throw sharps into the trash

Sharps are defined as disposable hypodermic needles, syringes, lancets, and other medical devices used for self-injection or blood test.

State law (H&SC §118286) prohibits a person from placing sharps in their trash or recycling containers.

To safely dispose of your used sharps, place them in a biohazard sharps container and contact your personal physician, clinic administrator, or pharmacist and ask if they have a take-back program in place. If you purchase sharps on-line, please remember to request a pre-addressed, prepaid mail-back box for your used sharps. The Countywide Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Program also accepts sharps as well as many pharmacies throughout the County.

Drop off or mail in used sharps

Drop off used sharps

Mail in used sharps

How to dispose of home-generated sharps

Properly disposing of your used sharps will help protect your family, community, the public, your garbage hauler, and the environment.

Please remember:
All sharps must be in an approved sharps container. Do not throw them in the trash!

Follow these steps to recycle sharps:

Place home-generated, used sharps in an approved sharps container. Order free sharps containers— three free containers at a time.
You can dispose of the sharps containers by the following methods:
- Take to sharps drop-off location. FREE drop-off for residents.
- Use a sharps mail-back service.

Approved sharps containers

Red plastic sharps container with its lid popped open and biohazard sticker on the container's front.

Your container must be rigid, puncture-resistant, unbreakable, leak-resistant with a tightly sealed lid and labeled as "Sharps Waste" or showing the International Biohazard label.

No: glass jars, soda bottles, or milk jugs—these containers are not puncture proof.