California Health and Safety Code §118286 bans home-generated sharps from regular trash or recycling. San Diego County HHSA runs the Safer Healthcare and Resource Project (SHARP) with free drop-off sites and mail-back kits for residents.
Since September 2008, California Health and Safety Code §118286 has classified home-generated needles, syringes, and lancets as medical waste that may not be discarded in residential garbage, recycling, or down a drain. Sharps must travel from home to a permitted disposal site only inside an FDA-cleared sharps container or rigid puncture-resistant container labeled biohazard. San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency operates the SHARP program with multiple free drop-off sites at health centers, hospitals, and household hazardous waste facilities, plus a mail-back kit option. Many San Diego pharmacies also accept sharps under the manufacturer-funded MED-Project stewardship program.
Disposing sharps in regular trash is an infraction under Health and Safety Code §118286 with fines up to one hundred dollars per violation. Repeat dumping or commercial-quantity violations can escalate to medical-waste prosecution carrying jail time and four-figure penalties.
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