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Sharps Waste Disposal

Sharps Manufacturers and Collectors Resources

Legislation and Ordinances

• Senate Bill 486 requires pharmaceutical manufacturers that sell or distribute a medication in California that is usually intended to be self-injected at home through the use of a hypodermic needle, pen needle, intravenous needle, or any other similar device, to submit a plan to CalRecycle on or before July 1, 2010, and annually thereafter, that describes how the manufacturer supports the safe collection and proper disposal of the waste devices. The 2011 pharmaceutical manufacturers' sharps collection and disposal plans are now available.
• San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority's (IWMA) Ordinance No. 2008-2  (PDF, 329 KB) took effect in Sept. 2008 and requires retailers that sell sharps to accept home-generated sharps waste for proper disposal. The program was initially funded with seed money from a CalRecycle grant, but now retailers fund the program with the IWMA's Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) contractor collecting and consolidating the sharps waste. Prior to the ordinance, the only locations to accept home-generated sharps were the five IWMA HHW facilities. Now 40 retail locations accept sharps from the public.
• The City of Sacramento's Ordinance No. 2010-018 (PDF, 308 KB) took effect in August 2010 and requires all retailers, medical offices, hospitals and veterinarian clinics, and other providers that dispense sharps to the general public in the City of Sacramento to provide a sharps collection and disposal program at their locations at no additional cost to the general public. Prior to the ordinance, the only locations to accept home-generated sharps were three Household Hazardous Waste facilities. Now 35 retail locations accept sharps from the public.

Stakeholder Involvement

• Sharps Stakeholders Meetings were held on March 17, 2008 and Aug. 25, 2008.
• Sharps Surveys were conducted in 2007 to identify current barriers to the proper disposal of home-generated sharps waste. The information will be used to establish more effective collection programs. By participating, survey takers played a part in helping home sharps users find a more convenient and safe way to dispose of sharps. Survey results are available.
• Sharps Collected: a chart is available on pounds of sharps reported and collected (PDF, 78 KB) by household hazardous waste programs per fiscal year since 2005-06.

Educational Materials

CalRecycle developed a poster and brochure to educate persons on proper sharps disposal. These materials can be downloaded or obtained by emailing a request to pharmasharps@calrecycle.ca.gov.

• Brochure: Provides more details on where to dispose of sharps, why sharps are dangerous, and how to find locations to properly dispose of sharps. English (PDF, 152 KB) | Spanish (PDF, 122 KB)
 
• Mailer (PDF, 3.3 MB). This mail-back request form is available to have businesses sign up to become a sharps collection location.
 
• Poster (PDF, 1.9 MB). This 18- by 24-inch poster gives general information on where to dispose of sharps properly.
 

For More Information

Stay informed about the latest developments in CalRecycle’s efforts to promote safe disposal of sharps waste.

• Listserv: To receive periodic information about sharps, subscribe to the Sharps and Medication Disposal Listserv.
• Contact: Please contact pharmasharps@calrecycle.ca.gov for questions or more information.

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