How should I dispose of used needles or sharps?

If you use needles to inject medication, it's your responsibility to dispose of your needles safely. You should use a special box designed for used needles and similar medical supplies that may carry infections.

Below are some examples of why you may need to inject medication using needles:

• You're diabetic and you need regular insulin injections, using a syringe, injection pen or insulin pen (auto-injection).
• You're diabetic and you need to check your glucose level regularly, with a finger-prick blood test using a lancet.
• You have a severe allergy for which you may need to inject adrenalin (epinephrine) from a preloaded syringe or injection pen, as prescribed by your doctor.

Why can't I just put used needles in the bin?

Needles can cause injury to you or other people because they're sharp. Once they've been used, they also carry fluids from your body, such as blood.

Used needles can carry infections, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B or hepatitis C. A used needle which is contaminated like this can pass an infection on to other people.

Where can I dispose of them?

Needles and similar medical supplies, such as syringes and lancets, are called sharps. They are classed as clinical waste, which means that special arrangements apply to their disposal.

You should put used needles and other sharps in a rigid box with a lid, designed for that purpose. These boxes are called sharps bins, sharps disposal boxes or sharps containers.

Keep your sharps bin in a safe place while it's in use, so that it's not a danger to other people. And remember to do this when it's waiting to be collected.

Disposing of used needles in other ways can cause injury to other people. Do not put used needles:

• in your household waste bin or any other refuse bin not intended for such items, or
• in any other container that's no longer needed, for example, drink cans or bottles, or plastic food boxes.

Once you have put a used needle in your sharps bin, do not try to take it out again.

Where can I get a sharps bin?

Sharps bins are available on prescription from your doctor or healthcare professional.

How do I dispose of my sharps bin?

Collection services for full sharps bins vary from area to area.

Local councils will collect and dispose of sharp bins for people with diabetes; they may make a charge for this service. Some doctors and pharmacies also run collection services that are free.

What are clippers?

You can use a clipper to snap off a needle or the sharp part of a syringe. You can use the clipper as a temporary way to keep used needles safe, as the needle stays inside the clipper.

You cannot use a clipper to break off the sharp part of a lancet, as clippers are not designed to remove lancet needles.

When the clipper is full, you should dispose of it in your sharps container.

Clippers are also available on prescription.

Needles used to inject illegal drugs

Needles used to inject illegal drugs can also carry bodily fluids, which can pass infections such as HIV and Hepatitis B on to other people. Therefore, you should never re-use or share needles.

If you have a drug problem, you should speak to someone who can help, so you can get advice on what you can do and where you can go for support. You can speak with your doctor.

There are now needle exchange programs. These programs provide free supplies of clean, sterile needles and safely dispose of used needles.