Used sharps generated by a business or commercial enterprise are considered biomedical waste. Safe disposal of all biomedical waste is a cost of doing business and is the responsibility of the business owner. This is true for businesses large and small, for-profit and non-profit. All biomedical waste, including sharps, must be disposed of through a licensed biomedical waste transporter or an approved treatment method.

For more information on disposal options for businesses in King County, contact one of the biomedical waste transportation vendors listed below. Business and commercial enterprises include hospitals; research and diagnostic laboratories; nursing homes; hospices; clinics; medical, dental, acupuncture and veterinary practices; pharmacies; and any other business, research, service or educational institution that uses needles, syringes, lancets or other injection equipment.:

• Stericycle, Inc.
  28161 N Keith Dr.
  Lake Forest, IL 60045
  Customer Service line at 1-866-783-9816
  
  
• Trilogy Medwaste
  3032 South Cedar St, Ste A
  Tacoma, WA 98409
  Corporate Customer Service Line: 1-888-763-3927

Business and commercial generators may NOT utilize the options outlined below. The following options are only for people who use sharps within their homes.

In King County there are options for disposing of sharps generated from personal use. The options differ somewhat depending on where you live. Proper preparation and disposal are important to avoid injury to yourself and others.

The following guidelines apply to sharps you use at home and to needles and syringes you might find around your home.

• If you find a syringe or needle, do not pick it up with your bare hands. Use a glove and tongs, shovel or broom and dustpan to pick it up.
  
  
• Always place used sharps and syringes in a safe container. This can be a manufactured sharps container or a 2-liter plastic pop bottle.
  
  
• Do not break the needle off from the syringe. Needles can carry HIV, hepatitis and other germs. If the needle gets broken off from a syringe you have personally used, pull the plunger out of the barrel, put the needle in the barrel, and then replace the plunger. Please, do not flush needles or syringes down the toilet!

IF YOU LIVE IN SEATTLE

It is illegal to dispose of needles, lancets and syringes in your regular garbage can or recycling container.

• First, put the items in a safe container (manufactured sharps container or empty plastic bottle as described above) and seal it tightly.
  
  
• Then, drop it in a secure sharps disposal box location. See list of drop-off locations in the Seattle and other locations in King County on a Google Map. You are responsible for putting your sharps in the drop box at the site. Your sharps container will not be returned to you.

• Another option is the outdoor, 24/7 drop box at the Downtown Public Health Center at 2124 4th Ave, Seattle
  • Phone: 206-477-8300
    
    
  • Bring your container of sharps to the site and carefully place your sharps container in the drop box located outside the Public health center. You are responsible for putting your sharps container in the drop box at the site. Your sharps container will not be returned to you.
    
    
  • NOTE: If your items will not fit in the drop box, please bring them inside to the Public Health Center reception desk. If the clinic is closed, please return during normal business hours to safely dispose of your sharps. Do not leave sharps containers or loose sharps on or around the drop box.
    
    These drop boxes are not for use by business and commercial generators of sharps. The drop boxes are only for people who use sharps within their homes.

IF YOU LIVE IN AREAS OF KING COUNTY OUTSIDE SEATTLE CITY LIMITS

• Put the items in a safe container.

• Bring sharps container to one of disposal sites operated by King County Solid Waste. This service is free. No loose sharps allowed.

• Bow Lake Recycling & Transfer Station, 18800 Orilla Rd S, Tukwila, WA
  
  
• Shoreline Recycling & Transfer Station, 2300 N 165th St, Shoreline, WA
  
  
• Vashon Recycling & Transfer Station, 18900 Westside Hwy SW, Vashon, WA
  
  
• Factoria Recycling & Transfer Station, 13800 SE 32nd St, Bellevue, WA
  
  
• Another option is to drop the securely sealed and bottled sharps to one of the Public Health Center's 24/7 outdoor drop boxes:
  
  
  • Auburn Public Health Center, Phone: 206-477-0600
    901 Auburn Way N, Auburn, WA 98002
    
    
  • Eastgate Public Health Center, Phone: 206-477-8000
    14350 SE Eastgate Way, Bellevue
    
    
  • Federal Way Public Health Center, Phone: 206-477-6800
    33431 13th Place S, Federal Way
    
    
  • Bring your container of sharps to the site and carefully place your sharps container in the drop box located outside the Public health center. You are responsible for putting your sharps container in the drop box at the site. Your sharps container will not be returned to you
    
    
  • NOTE: If your items will not fit in the drop box, please bring them inside to the Public Health Center reception desk. If the clinic is closed, please return during normal business hours to safely dispose of your sharps. Do not leave sharps containers or loose sharps on or around the drop box.
    
    These drop boxes are not for use by business and commercial generators of sharps. The drop boxes are only for people who use sharps within their homes.
    
    
• Check if your local pharmacy offers sharps take-back programs.
  
  
• In an emergency and as an absolute last resort, place sharps in a safe plastic container and dispose the bottle in your garbage can. The bottle must be marked, "SHARPS - DO NOT RECYCLE."
  
  
• DO NOT put the bottle in your recycling bin.

Some pharmacies will dispose of used injection supplies for you if they are safely stored in an approved manufactured sharps container. There is usually a fee for this service. Ask your pharmacist if she or he provides this service.

Some health care providers allow patients to return used injection equipment to the provider's office for disposal if it is used for medications they have prescribed. Talk to your doctor or health care provider.

The King County Needle Exchange is a harm reduction program for persons who use injection drugs.  The needle exchange provides sterile injection equipment, naloxone, other harm reduction supplies and health education and disease prevention materials.  It also provides screening for HIV, hepatitis, and other blood-borne illnesses, treatment for wounds and abscesses, and assistance getting into drug treatment and other social services.
 
Used syringes are collected from customers at no charge and are safely disposed of as commercial biomedical waste. Needle exchange accepts used sharps and syringes that are loose, as well as used equipment that is stored in containers. 
 
Needle exchange has been successful in keeping the rate of HIV very low among people who inject drugs in King County. It also protects drug users' families, their sexual partners, and their children and works to reduce the impact of fatal and non-fatal overdoses in King County.
 
For more information, including collection locations and operating hours, please see the King County Needle Exchange Program.

• If you find a needle or syringe on public property within Seattle city limits, follow the instructions on the Seattle Public Utilities' Sharps Collection website.
  
  
• If found on private property in Seattle city limits, you can file a complaint through the Seattle Dept. of Construction and Inspections.
  
  
• If the needle or syringe is on public property in a different King County city or town, see list of city and town websites, click on the appropriate link then do a search on their page for "Code Compliance" (sometimes called 'Code Enforcement' in some cities) and submit a complaint through them.
  
  
• If the needle or syringe(s) is found on private property in King County outside of Seattle, call the Illegal Dumping Hotline at 206-296-7483.