- Blink Tabs
- Personal Tools
- Business Tools
- Instruction Tools
- Research Tools
Learn how to identify and properly dispose of sharps waste.
Sharps are devices or objects with corners, edges, or projections capable of cutting or piercing skin or regular waste bags. State and local laws regulate disposal of sharps to protect waste handlers from both physical and contamination hazards. Examples of sharps include:
The disposal method for sharps depends on whether they are contaminated with a hazardous material and the type of contamination. Separating sharps by type of contamination is required by law.
For disposal purposes, there are 4 kinds of sharps:
Read How to Dispose of Sharps for specific disposal procedures.
Notice: Disposal of hazardous waste using sinks, intentional evaporation, or as regular trash is against the law. Campus laboratories must abide by strict state and federal waste disposal requirements. You may be held liable for violations of applicable laws.