Recommendations
for Disposal of Needles/Syrings (Residential Sharps)
Discarded sharps pose a health risk to the public; particularly
solid waste workers who may suffer a needlestick injury if they
are not properly packaged when disposed of. Needlestick injuries
can require expensive testing and increase the risk of exposure
to infectious bloodborne diseases such as Hepatitis and HIV from
contaminated needles.
Whatcom County Solid Waste Rules currently allow the disposal
of residential sharps into household garbage cans when they are
properly packaged and labeled. Residential sharps are hypodermic
needles, syringes with needles attached, scalpel blades, and lancets
that are generated from self-treatment.
The following are some disposal recommendations for residential
sharps that minimize the risk of a needlestick injury.
- Label an empty PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic
two-liter pop bottle with the warning:
 DO NOT RECYCLE:
CONTAINS USED SYRINGES. Download and print the warning sticker or obtain one from
Environmental Health. If you don´t have access to
a warning sticker, label the bottle with a permanent marker.
Place used syringes in the bottle. When the bottle is
full, screw the cap on and seal it with tape. Dispose
of the filled, sealed bottle in your household garbage.
DO NOT place the bottle in your recycling bin, syringes
are not recyclable. DO NOT add bleach to the container.
Bleach may not completely disinfect the needles and it
could spill and injure you or solid waste workers.
- Clip the needle points using a "needle clipper" that
contains the needle portion of the syringe inside the
clipping device. The clipped syringe can go into your
household garbage as well as the needle clipper when it
is full. Be sure to clip the entire needle portion of
the syringe. Needle clippers can be purchased at some
local pharmacies.
- Use a mail-away sharps disposal program. Approved United
States Postal Service sharps containers can be purchased
from some medical waste disposal companies. When you purchase
the container you are also paying for the disposal of the
full container when you are ready to return it. Simply fill
the sharps container and mail it back in the box provided.
Contact Environmental Health at (360) 676-6724 for
information on mail away service providers.
A printable PDF
version of Sharps Disposal Information
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