Hi guys!
I’ve recently moved to the US, and am not sure where to find a Sharps container. In Canada, the sharps container (yellow container) was available for free. You’d fill it up and drop it off at the same pharmacy.
Imagine it is different here, so can someone initiate me with the process here? For now I’ve been keeping my sharps in a bottle.
All the best guys!
First—just so you know—sharps containers in the US are normally red.
Disposal rules and procedures vary from state to state and locality to locality. Some hospitals will accept any properly sealed container containing sharps, whether it is an “officlal” container or not. Others won’t.
Where I live, an empty sharps container can be purchased at my local pharmacy. When it’s full, I take it in and they accept it with no further charge.
There is wide variation. You will need to check with local hospitals and government offices where you live to find out what the specific rules are in your locality.
Another alternative (for syringes) is to buy one of those machines that melts the needle off, leaving a tiny dot of molten metal. The leftover syringes can then be disposed of without concern for sharps—again, depending on where you live.
In my area you don’t need a sharps container, you can use an empty laundry detergent bottle. Local pharmicies usually have special sharps containers for like $5. I am also trying out a needle clipper which can be quite useful
Hi!
I’ve always just gone to my local Walgreens or CVS and gone to the pharmacy to ask for a red sharps container (sometimes I will get 2 or 3 at once) and they have never been charged to me (I am in California). Definitely make sure you check out any legalities or rules in your area to see if you can do that or are required to take them to a hospital instead for disposal.
When mine are full I take them back to the pharmacy for drop off and they will give me new empty containers if I still need any. 
@Brian_BSC, the needle clippers are great for trips. The needles from the used syringes are inside the small container, which is small enough for a purse or pocket, and the remaining part of the syringes can be discarded anywhere.
I keep all my sharps/sensors/pump insets/cartridges etc. in a big water bottle now. I write sharps on it and throw it out with the recycle. That is what I was told to do by someone here and recycle also.
BD has a web page listing each states requirement…
http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=7002&id=10284
Like @Brian_BSC I’ve used a needle clipper like this one for years and LOVE how little waste I have to put into the sharps container.
If you use a pump, the needle clipper isn’t as useful for some of the infusion set needles.
Hi DyannaSF, I’m in California too. Specifically in San Jose area, and I went to my local pharmacy and they looked at like I was from Mars when I asked about a sharps container. Then one lady pointed me to a small $10 cointainer that had a courier mailing label. It was a while ago, so I can’t recall exactly, but I will go back to Walgreens.
Where are you in California that they’re giving away sharps containers?
One thing I did not mention but is important to know is that pharmacies may only stock certain items but they can order literally millions of items. My local pharmacy stopped carrying the sharps container that I like (the BD 1.5 quart) but they can special order it for me and it still costs less than $5 and will arrive within a few days.
Oh I’m in San Francisco! I’ve never had trouble getting sharps containers anywhere I usually go to Walgreens to get them and there’s no charge for me. Even through my insurance with kaiser permanente I don’t get charged.
I have one of these as well, and it’s neat, but I also find it doesn’t work with infusion sets, even the metal sets like the Contact Detach (the clipper isn’t strong enough to clip through the needle).
I live in the state of Washington. There are two ways to do the sharps thing here. If you have money coming out of your pockets, you can buy one of those red containers. But they charge you a fee beforehand for the container’s disposal later. The other way to do it is to put your sharps in a plastic gallon jug or 2 liter (litre) plastic pop bottle and take it to a public health center. They have a big metal container in front of public health centers where you can–free of charge–deposit your jugs and bottles of sharps (Label them with a sharpie “Sharps”). Check to see if you have something like public health centers that do the same thing if you don’t want to pay for disposal.
You can also check with your local garbage collection service, sometimes they are required by their county or municipal contracts to provide this service to their customers who need it.
I use a small pair of metal side cutters purchased from a local hardware store. They will easily cut the tip off the Accu-Chek softclix lancets. I also use them to cut my toe nails.
With needles I hold the sharp with the side cutter and pull the sharp out. With pen needles I cut through the sharp as close as possible to the cap. Remove the cap and cut the cap so the remainder of the sharp can be removed. I store the sharps the small container that the test strips come in. It takes over a year to fill this small container.
My local policy is put them in a hard container like a plastic hard side jug or coffee can. Tape shut and Mark "sharps "on it. Nancy
Excellent idea. I’ll check with the contractor’s on behalf of San Jose.
For infusion sets, I use a pair of pliers and pull out the needle. This may vary with what kind of pump/infusion set you have. Be careful when pulling out any needles, safety first.