Waste Management of Orange County

Waste Management and Sharps Compliance, Inc. have partnered to offer a safe, confidential and cost-effective medical waste disposal system to several of the communities we serve. The Sharps Disposal by Mail System™ provides individuals, companies and institutions a way of disposing used hypodermic needles, lancets, test strips and other small quantity medical waste. Each system includes a specially designed sharps container and a postage-prepaid shipping container ensuring your medical waste will be delivered safely by the U.S. Postal Service to a certified medical waste resource recovery facility.

There are two container sizes available for the home user and one for commercial customers. All are designed to meet all local, state and federal requirements. All provide a worry-free, responsible and safe needle disposal system. Order the one that best fits your personal volume of use.

To find out if the Sharps Disposal System is available in your area, please contact customer service at (714) 558-7761, (949) 642-1191 or (562) 694-3730, or visit www.wastemd.com for ordering information.

Read more about Sharps Disposal by Mail System for home use now. NOTE: This document is in PDF format, and Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view.

It is important that needles and other sharps are disposed of in a safe manner, in order to protect yourself and others who may come in contact with your waste cart, whether it is the trash hauler or sorters who work at Waste Management facilities. The United States Environmental Protection Agency offers guidelines on how to safely dispose of sharps and other medical wastes.

You may also contact the Orange County Health Care Agency - Environmental Health at (714) 433-6000 and ask to speak to the medical waste inspector in your city for information about where you may take these items for safe disposal. In Orange County, a number of medical facilities have been approved by the Orange County Health Care Agency to act as "home-generated sharps consolidation points." These approved consolidation points have agreed to accept used medical sharps from the public at no cost. Additional information is available on the county's Web site.

As a last resort, sharps may be placed in a rigid plastic container, such as a plastic bleach or laundry detergent container, sealed and labeled as sharps waste and placed in the trash bin for disposal. Additional guidelines are available in a PDF form from the County of Orange, however the best and safest option for sharps disposal is participating in a mail-back or drop-off program.