Household Hazardous Waste
This item should never be put in a curbside bin. For more information visit our household hazardous waste page.
Needles & Syringes
A needle and syringe is a common delivery system for injectable medicines and other drugs, such as used diabetic test lancets and used or unused needles which are collectively called sharps.
It is illegal for needles and other sharps to be placed into trash or recycling containers. People hand sort at the start of the recycling process; keep them safe by not placing used needles in plastic containers and putting them in your recycling bin.
Sharps, syringes, needles, auto injectors, prefilled syringes with needle, and lancets should be in a sealed FDA cleared Sharps container. Sharps containers are available in most drug stores and from mail order & internet ecommerce sources. Kiosks in pharmacies, Hospitals and Police Departments can accept Sharps containers up to 1 gallon in size. HHW Facilities accept larger sharps containers.
Sharps containers are available in most drug stores and from mail order & internet e-commerce sources.
Free Mail-back containers mailed directly to your home are available by calling 1-844-633-7765 or visiting med-project.org, choose "Mail Back" to fill out an on-line order form. Novo Nordisk also has a free Mail-back container service for their customers: 1-877-438-0564.
Vendors
| Vendor | Address | City | Destination | Disposal Method | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walgreens | 965 Geneva Ave. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 1100 Van Ness Avenue | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 1189 Potrero Ave. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 3601 California St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 2100 Webster St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 1201 Taraval St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 3801 3rd St. Suite 550 | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 2120 Polk St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Reliable Rexall Sunset Pharmacy | 801 Irving St | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Koshland Pharm Compounding Pharmacy | 301 Folsom Street, Suite B | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Pickup a FREE empty sharps collection container, fill it up, and return to the any participating SF pharmacy. | |
| Walgreens | 1300 Bush St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 4129 18th St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 2141 Chestnut St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Golden Gate Pharmacy | 1836 Noriega Street | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Pickup a FREE empty sharps collection container, fill it up, and return to the any participating SF pharmacy. | |
| Alto Pharmacy | 1400 Tennessee St, Unit 2 | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Pickup a FREE empty sharps collection container, fill it up, and return to the any participating SF pharmacy. Loose needles cannot be accepted. | |
| Walgreens | 1301 Franklin St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 456 Mission St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 2145 Market St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Safeway Pharmacy | 2020 Market Street | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 1301 Market St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off |
