Under current law, all patients who give themselves injections at home (home users) are offered two options for disposal of their used needles and syringes.

Your first option is to participate in a sharps exchange program through a local pharmacy. Through one of these programs you would purchase a sharps container for a $2 or $3 fee, then return it to the pharmacy for disposal when full. This is the safest option for everyone involved.

Your second option is to place your used sharps into a closed coffee can, soda bottle, or other puncture-proof container and put this container out with your regular trash collection. This option is perfectly legal, but may potentially cause problems for your trash collector or the environment. Therefore, we recommend the sharps exchange program.

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