How to Dispose of Sharps in Your State

	Put used sharps in a heavy-duty, plastic container. See: List of acceptable containers. Loose sharps should never be thrown into the trash or toilet.
	When the container is about three-quarters (¾) full, put the lid on, seal it with duct tape, and label: DO NOT RECYCLE.
	Put the sealed plastic container in the household trash - do not recycle! If a trash collector is reluctant to collect a red sharps container, refer them to your state waste agency.

• If you have a needle clipper, it can be disposed of according to your state or local regulations when full. See: More information on needle clippers.
• Sharps that retract after use, or are very small, should be disposed of like all other sharps.

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If you would like to bring your sealed container to a community sharps disposal program, all hospitals and nursing homes in the state of New York (with the exception of federal facilities), are mandated by law to accept properly contained home-generated sharps.

There are many individuals with serious health conditions who manage their care at home and use syringes. For example, people with diabetes use syringes to inject their own insulin and use lancets every day to test their blood glucose. In addition, injection drug users use syringes and needles. Safe disposal of sharps is critically important to optimize health, safety and protection of the environment. The best way to ensure that people are protected from potential injury or disease transmission of blood borne diseases due to needle sticks is to follow established guidelines for the proper containment of “sharps” syringes, needles and lancets and other safer disposal practices.

The New York State Department of Health provides three directories that identify sharps collection sites in communities across the state. Under the State Public Health Law, hospitals and nursing homes are required to accept properly contained home-generated sharps as a free community service. In addition, many pharmacies, health clinics, community-based organizations, mobile van programs, public transportation facilities, housing projects, police stations, waste transfer stations and other venues have become settings for safe sharps and offer syringe collection drop boxes (or "kiosks") to help facilitate the safe collection of used sharps.

State guidelines provided courtesy of NeedyMeds via SafeNeedleDisposal.org.