HOME SHARPS COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL - FACT SHEET

The Board of Health wants to inform you that effective July 1, 2012, home sharps cannot be placed in the trash.

Home sharps include used needles, lancets, syringes which have a needle attached, and any needles or lancets not in their original packaging. Home sharps are used for personal or pet use to administer medications like insulin or to test blood sugar levels.

All spent sharps must be placed in an approved container.

Approved containers are leak proof, rigid, puncture resistant, often red or orange and carry a biohazard sign on the outside.

Sharps containers are available for purchase online or at some local pharmacies. The Board of Health also has a limited supply for sale.

The Board of Health will collect and properly dispose of home sharps during biannual collection events held in the spring and fall. This service is currently offered to Bedford residents free of charge

To participate in the Home Sharps Collection Event, you will need to:

• bring proof of that you are a resident of Bedford, and
• bring your sharps in a nearly full, approved sharps container.

Scheduled collection events will be posted on the Bedford Board of Health website, the Town of Bedford website, in the local newspapers and on in the community calendar on the Bedford TV website.

For more information or to purchase a sharps container, please stop by the Bedford Board of Health located at 12 Mudge Way in the Town Center Building (yellow building behind Town Hall) or contact us at 781-275-6507.