California Medical Waste Management Act bans home sharps from regular trash. Berkeley residents must use approved sharps containers and drop them at participating pharmacies, transfer stations, or city-supported events.
California Health and Safety Code section 117671 prohibits placing home-generated sharps waste in residential garbage or recycling. Berkeley residents must store used needles, lancets, and insulin pens in FDA-approved sharps containers and dispose of them through Alameda County safe drug disposal kiosks, participating pharmacies, or the household hazardous waste facility in Oakland. Berkeley supports the Alameda County Safe Disposal program funded by SB 212 (Pharmaceutical and Sharps Stewardship Act of 2018), which requires producers to operate take-back programs at no cost to residents.
Tossing sharps into household trash or recycling is illegal under California law and can lead to hazardous-waste fines and worker-injury liability for sanitation employees.
Berkeley, CA
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Berkeley, CA
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See how other cities in Alameda County handle syringe disposal.
See how Berkeley's syringe disposal rules stack up against other locations.
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