Californians who use hypodermic needles in their homes need to find alternative ways to dispose of them, the result of a law banning needles in trash cans that takes effect Monday.
The law, passed in April, forbids hypodermic needles – or "sharps" – from being thrown away in residential garbage, including recycling and green waste bins, according to a news release by Waste Management Inc.
California is one of the first states to ban hypodermic needles from residential garbage.
Beginning Monday, needles must be disposed of in an approved container at a hazardous waste facility, a medical waste generator facility or a facility that manages a needle mail-back program, the release states.
Several California cities participate in such mail-back programs, which provide a postage-prepaid shipping container to a certified medical waste facility, the release states. For more information about the Waste Management/Sharps Compliance mail-back program, view www.wastemd.com.
