Glynn County, GA Public Health Rules: Syringe Disposal (2026)

Section 2-16-235 of the Glynn County Code, part of the county's Clean Community Ordinance (Chapter 2-16, Article VII), sets a separate disposal duty for sharps alongside its rule for contagious-disease refuse. Subsection (b) requires anyone who 'uses, disposes of, or discards' hypodermic syringes, hypodermic needles, or injection devices to place them in containers that are puncture resistant, leak proof on the bottom and sides, sealable, and labeled and color coded as biohazardous materials before they enter the regular waste stream. Users of ordinary disposable needles face a parallel duty: containers must be rigid, puncture resistant and leak proof, and taped closed or tightly lidded so nothing spills out.

Either way, the filled container itself must then be disposed of in a manner that adheres to all federal, state and local laws, so a resident cannot set a sharps container at the curb the way they would a bagged household trash can under the county's standard collection rules in Division 3. The Glynn County Code Enforcement Division of the Planning and Zoning Department and the Glynn County Police Department are the agencies charged with investigating Clean Community Ordinance complaints and issuing citations under Section 2-16-248, and a companion provision at Section 2-16-235(a) imposes a matching duty on producers of pathological waste from contagious-disease sites. There is no county needle-exchange or harm-reduction siting ordinance in this chapter; the rule addresses disposal, not distribution.