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.
Drop-off Location Finder for Safe Disposal of Sharps Containers
"Sharps" include: syringes, hypodermic and pen needles, auto-injectors, pre- loaded sharps, intravenous needles and lancets. (Note: Treat Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) as both "sharps" (aka the applicator) and ewaste (embedded battery and electronics).
During the recycling process, people hand pick items from the sort line. Please keep them safe by NOT placing sharps in your recycling, organics, or trash bins. Place all sharps in an sharps disposal container immediately after they have been used. This will reduce the risk of needle sticks, cuts, and punctures from sharps. Never flush sharps down the drain or toilet. For more information, please visit the Safe Disposal Information.
- Sharps containers are available in pharmacies, drug stores, and online. There are free kiosks/drop-boxes to place full sharps containers in at pharmacies, hospitals and police departments (up to 1 gallon in size). HHW Facilities may accept larger sharps containers.
Free Mail-Back Services in California: Free shipping labels and envelopes to mail in your sharps contained in a US FDA-cleared container for safe disposal are available through SharpsTakeBackCalifornia.org or by phone 844-482-5322.
- Some pharmaceutical companies offer free mail-back of sharps containers to their injectables patients. The pharmaceutical company that your injectable medication comes from may offer a free sharps container program.
California has an extended producer responsibility law in place that requires pharmaceutical companies to pay for convenient, safe disposal of Sharps. Alameda County was the first in the nation to pass a Sharps EPR bill.
Vendors
| Vendor | Address | City | Destination | Method | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic Services, Inc. Mail Back Service | 42600 Boyce Rd | Fremont | Safe Disposal | Mail-in for a Fee | Includes razor blades, tattoo needles and piercing devices. - Sharps Mail-in program | |
| Reliable Rexall Sunset Pharmacy | 801 Irving St | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Recology SF Household Hazardous Waste Facility | 501 Tunnel Ave. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Limit of 15 gallons or 125 pounds per day of all household hazardous waste. San Francisco residents only. Address verification required. Open Thursday-Saturday only from 8am-4pm. | |
| Pleasanton Transfer Station | 3110 Busch Rd. | Pleasanton | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | HHW drop-off for residents only | |
| Piedmont Police Department | 403 Highland Avenue | Piedmont | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Drop-off Box inside for needles/syringes in FDA-approved Sharps Containers up to 1 gallon in size. | |
| Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy | 925 Cole St | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Orinda Police Department | 22 Orinda Way | Orinda | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Please place needles/sharps in an authorized sharps container before placing them in the collection receptacle. | |
| North East Medical Services | 1019 Clement Street | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| North East Medical Services | 1400 Noriega Street | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| North East Medical Services | 2574 San Bruno Avenue | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| North East Medical Services | 1520 Stockon St. | San Francisco | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| New Oakland Pharmacy (Lake Merritt) |
250 E 18th Street 3rd Floor |
Oakland | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Kiosk inside. Sharps, syringes, needles, auto injectors, prefilled syringes with needle, and lancets should be in a sealed FDA cleared Sharps container. 1g max size. | |
| New Oakland Pharmacy (333 9th St) |
333 9th St b/t Webster St & Franklin St |
Oakland | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Drop-off Box inside for needles/syringes in FDA-approved Sharps Containers up to 1 gallon in size. | |
| New Oakland Pharmacy #2 (388 9th St) | 388 9th St | Oakland | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Drop-off Box inside for needles/syringes in FDA-approved Sharps Containers up to 1 gallon in size. | |
| Needle Exchange Emergency Distribution (Shattuck Ave) | 3124 Shattuck Ave | Berkeley | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Needle Exchange Emergency Distribution (Hearst St) | Hearst Street @ San Pablo Ave | Berkeley | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Needle Exchange Emergency Distribution (Durant Ave) | 2340 Durant Ave | Berkeley | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Native American Health Center (Seven Directions) | 2950 International Blvd | Oakland | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Sharps Kiosk inside for approved sharps containers. | |
| Mt. View Sanitary District (MVSD) | 3800 Arthur Rd. | Martinez | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Please place needles/sharps in an authorized sharps container before placing them in the collection receptacle. | |
| Moraga Fire Station | 1280 Moraga Way | Moraga | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | Please place needles/sharps in an authorized sharps container before placing them in the collection receptacle. |
