Frederick County, VA Public Health Rules: Syringe Disposal (2026)

Frederick County Code Chapter 142 defines infectious waste broadly, and § 142-28N(6) states that all sharps used in or related to patient care count as infectious waste. Infectious waste is not curbside refuse; it falls outside what the County's residential collection accepts, since § 142-28K(1) bars 'infectious waste' from curbside pickup.

Section 142-28N(8) carves out a specific exception for households. Subsection (8)(d) excludes sharps generated by residence occupants, meaning ordinary household needles and lancets, from the infectious-waste category, on the condition that the resident places them in a sealed, rigid, highly puncture-resistant container matching the type defined in Title 10.1, Article 3, § 1415.1 of the Code of Virginia. That outer container then has to go inside a refuse disposal bag or can before it reaches the curb. Once packaged that way, the Code says the sharps will be collected along with other refuse, so a household following this packaging rule needs no separate sharps program or drop-off under this section.

The rule protects County collectors from needle-stick injuries during pickup, which is why the container has to be rigid and puncture-resistant rather than a loose bag. It applies specifically to sharps generated in a residence; sharps from a medical, veterinary or laboratory setting fall back under the broader infectious-waste definition in § 142-28N and are not eligible for curbside disposal under this residential exception.