Sharps

It is illegal to throw your home-generated sharps into your garbage or recycling containers!

Home-generated sharps include hypodermic needles, pen needles, intravenous needles, lancets, and other devices that are used to penetrate the skin for the delivery of medications that you use in your home.

Place sharps in an Approved Sharps Container and use one of the following disposal options:

Take it Back

Effective August 26, 2010 all retailers, medical offices, hospitals and veterinarian clinics, and other providers that dispense sharps to the general public in the City of Sacramento must provide a sharps collection and disposal program at their locations at no additional cost, provided the retailer previously sold sharps to the consumer, or the consumer is simultaneously purchasing sharps from the retailer. Chapter 8.128 of the Sacramento City Code provides more information regarding home-generated sharps waste management.

Mail it back

A convenient and confidential way of properly disposing your sharps. The California Department of Health has information regarding free mail-back programs or free sharps containers.

Take it to a Household Hazardous Waste Facility (HHW)

The following HHW's in the region will accept home-generated sharps:

Sacramento Recycling and Transfer Station
8491 Fruitridge Rd.
(916) 379-0500

North Area Recovery Station
4450 Roseville Rd.
(916) 875-5555

Elk Grove Special Waste Facility
9255 Disposal Lane
Elk Grove, California 95624

This is a state law. More information regarding Sharps Waste can be found through the CalRecycle.