What To Do With Old Medications and Sharps Waste
CA.gov CalRecycle Search Engine
Use the CA.gov CalRecycle search engine to find disposal locations for home-generated medical waste and home-generated sharps waste.
Old Medications
Don't flush old medications or throw them away!
Medicine can end up in the wrong hands and can get into the our soil and water, creating an environmental hazard. And never flush your old medications or pour them down the sink, whether the medication is a liquid or a solid. Waste water treatment facilities are not properly equipped to remove the medicinal substances from the water. The result? A wide range of pharmaceuticals have been found in our rivers, lakes and drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently examining the potentially highly damaging effects of these substances on fish and wildlife.
For privacy purposes, we recommend removing the labels from all medication packages before dropping off.
| San Mateo County garbage services and household hazardous waste programs do not accept pharmaceutical waste. Instead, take old medications to confidential drop-off containers available at most police stations, some of which are: |
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Sharps
State Law Section 118286 of the California Health and Safety Code makes it illegal to dispose of sharps waste in the trash or recycling containers, and requires that all sharps waste be transported to a collection center in an approved sharps container.
Section 117671 of the California Health and Safety Code defines “Home Generated Sharps Waste” as hypodermic needles, pen needles, intravenous needles, lancets and other devices that are used to penetrate the skin, for the delivery of medications derived from household, including a multifamily residence or household.
Any pre-filled sharps items with expired medication can be put in sharps containers with the medication intact for disposal.
For proper storage and transportation of sharps waste, either purchase a sharps disposal container from a pharmacy or ask your specialty pharmacy to provide you with a sharps container (these are typically readily available if you receive your medication through the mail). There are lots of places to purchase sharps containers online, search for "sharps containers".
If you belong to a medical health care provider such as Kaiser, Peninsula Hospital, Seton Medical Center or other health care provider, please contact them to find out availability for disposal at their locations.
| Otherwise, take sharps waste in an approved container to a drop-off location, some of which are: |
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Mail-back disposal programs allow home sharps users to mail used sharps to licensed disposal facilities as a safe disposal option. Such programs charge a fee for this service. To find these services online, search for "mail-back sharps containers".
