How should I dispose of needles or other sharps?

Sharps are items having a thin edge or a fine point suitable for, or capable of, cutting or piercing. This includes needles, glass slides and tubes, broken plastic, scalpel blades, pipette tips, swabs, and any other material which can puncture the skin, or an autoclave or biohazard bag.

Sharps, both contaminated and uncontaminated, must be placed into puncture-resistant containers. EHS can provide sharps containers, free of charge or you may use any hard plastic, sealable container ( e.g., laundry detergent bottle) with the original label defaced/removed and relabeled with "Sharps" and a biohazard sticker.