For safety reasons, please do not put needles or containers with needles into your garbage or recycling. Landfill of North Iowa’s Biohazard Sharps Program provides red, rigid containers for sharps disposal for a small fee.
As an alternative, residents may dispose of such items in rigid laundry detergent containers with lids tightly secured with tape (NO milk jugs, water/pop bottles, or coffee cans with plastic lids are accepted. These plastics are too soft for Safe Disposal). Mark the container appropriately to prevent it from being placed in your recycling bin or trash.
Acceptable Items:
- Sharps & Sharps Containers
- Needles
- Syringes
- Lancets
- EpiPens
- Razor Blades
Fees:
Purchase and disposal of a single 1.5 qrt. sharps container – $2
Purchase and disposal of a single 5 qrt. sharps container – $15
Supplies may be purchased in the scale office. Appointments for disposal need to be scheduled with Regional Collection Center. Call 1-877-526-3345 ext.17
***** CAUTION *****
Extreme care must be taken in the handling and disposal of medical sharps including needles, lancets, syringes and other used items that could cause a puncture to abrasion. The EPA suggests residents should put them in a secure container with a lid, for example, a liquid laundry soap container.
Improper management of discarded needles and other medical sharps can pose a health risk to you, children, family members, sanitation and landfill employees. For example, discarded needles may expose employees to potential needle stick injuries and potential infection when containers break open inside garbage trucks or needles are mistakenly sent to recycling facilities. Used needles can transmit serious diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis.
Medical sharps are not recyclable. They are stored in a special container until they can be sent to a third-party processor. The final step in the disposal of sharps waste is incineration or landfilling, depending on the processor and area of the country.