Important Information on Sharps Waste

New State Regulations
Beginning on September 1, 2008, State law (Section 118286 of the California Health and Safety Code) makes it illegal to dispose of sharps waste in the trash or recycling containers, and requires that all sharps waste be transported to a collection center in an approved sharps container.

Section 117671 of the California Health and Safety Code defines "home-generated sharps waste" as hypodermic needles, pen needles, intravenous needles, lancets, and other devices that are used to penetrate the skin for the delivery of medications derived from a household, including a multifamily residence or household.

In addition to prohibiting the disposal of sharps waste in the trash, the Medical Waste Management Act requires home-generated sharps to be placed in approved containers for transport and disposal. Home-generated sharps should not be disposed of in bleach bottles, soda containers, or detergent containers. Instead, users should store the sharps waste in red bio-hazardous containers for easy identification.

Bio-hazard containers are available for purchase by consumers. Additionally, some jurisdictions have containers available at no cost. Information can be found at county health websites.

Bio-hazard containers can be disposed of in one of four ways:

• Taken to a local household hazardous waste facility;
• Taken to a medical waste generator facility (hospitals, clinics, or doctors’ offices);
• Shipped through a mail-back program;
• Taken to an approved home-generated sharps waste collection location.

To find a location to properly dispose of home-generated sharps, go to the California Integrated Waste Management Board’s Medical Waste Disposal Directory.

For more information, visit CIWMB's Sharps web page.