Household Medical Waste | How to Dispose of Medical Waste at Home
As California’s premier medical waste disposal experts, we aspire to the highest standards in managing and disposing of medical waste in healthcare facilities all over the state. However, you have a role to play, too. As a citizen, it is also your responsibility to safely and effectively manage home medical waste disposal. Read our guide on how to do this.
Household
Sharps Waste
Properly dispose of your
household needles, diabetic
lancets, and syringes.
Step
1
Contain it.
Contain your sharps in a
sharps container or
other hard plastic
container, such as a
laundry detergent bottle
or mouth wash bottle.
Close the container.
sharps container or
other hard plastic
container, such as a
laundry detergent bottle
or mouth wash bottle.
Close the container.
Step
2
Dispose of it.
Dispose of your container
at a local household
sharps collection site.
at a local household
sharps collection site.
OR
Use a mailable sharps
container system and bring it
to your local mail place to be
sent out for disposal.
container system and bring it
to your local mail place to be
sent out for disposal.
Household
Medicine Waste
Properly dispose of your
household's unused medicines
& pills.
OPTION
1
Bring it.
Bring your medicines to a local collection site or
take back event. You can find the medicine
collection site that is nearest to you by using
Google’s special locator tool or the DEA’s locator
tool.
take back event. You can find the medicine
collection site that is nearest to you by using
Google’s special locator tool or the DEA’s locator
tool.
Option
2
Flush it.
Some medicines can and should be
flushed down the sink or toilet. Read the
FDA’s information on flushing medicines.
flushed down the sink or toilet. Read the
FDA’s information on flushing medicines.
How to Dispose of Medical Waste in the Home
Unlike healthcare facilities, home medical waste disposal will primarily only involve the disposal of sharps and medication. Needles and diabetic lances are only safe if they are contained and disposed of properly. Used sharps should be placed in a plastic container. While there are several sharps containers available in our online store, any plastic container, such as an empty detergent box, will do in a pinch. Once the container is full, dispose of it at a local sharps collection site or use a mail service.
In the case of medication, you can take expired or otherwise unusable medication to a collection site or event. Both Google and the DEA official site have location maps for these events. In other cases, some medication can and should be flushed down the toilet. The FDA has further information on how to dispose of medical waste at home.