Haverford, PA Public Health Rules: Syringe Disposal (2026)

Chapter 95 of the Haverford Township Code governs garbage, rubbish and refuse, and § 95-17 sets the storage, handling and disposal rules for waste. Subsection C, titled Additional regulations, lists medical waste in paragraph (6). The list names tongue depressors, cotton swabs, medical gloves, surgical gowns, table paper, bandages and gauze, needles and syringes, pathological wastes, liquids and throat cultures, and then adds similar waste material. All of it must be placed in suitable closed containers before it goes into the normal trash, in order to prevent exposure to the general public. Paragraph (6) itself sets no container size or material; its working words are "suitable closed containers".

The same subsection draws a line around what the Township crew picks up. Paragraph (4) says collectors will not enter private property or buildings to remove waste. Paragraph (5) says commercial garbage, including waste from hotels, motels, restaurants, markets, hospitals and institutions, is not picked up by the Township and must be collected by private contractors. Subsection D adds that absolutely no trash is picked up at any commercial establishment, any apartment building containing more than four units, or any apartment unit above or behind a commercial establishment. A clinic, a pharmacy or an apartment building with more than four units therefore arranges its own hauler.

The ordinary container rules still apply to the trash container the sealed sharps container goes into. Section 95-17(B)(1) requires durable, watertight receptacles of rust-resistant metal or plastic with a tight-fitting lid, not exceeding fifty-gallon capacity, while § 95-18 separately caps a loaded container at 40 pounds and a container size at 35 gallons. Containers reach the curbline no later than 5:00 a.m. on collection day and come off it within 12 hours of collection. Paragraph (C)(1) also makes the rules and regulations of the County of Delaware in Ordinance No. 78-3 binding on residents.