Improper disposal of needles and other medical sharps could cause needle-stick accidents, particularly for garbage collectors. Please throw your used needles away safely. Needles, sharps or sharps containers should not be included in your household trash. Collection packages for these things are available in lots of places throughout the nation. Use the hyperlinks below to seek out the situation closest to you.

The word "sharps" refers to any form of waste that may pierce or puncture the pores and skin. Not necessarily referring to an object designed for that purpose, many everyday family gadgets will be defined as sharps; they could cause accidents if they are thrown out with common waste. Some common gadgets which can be classified as sharps are:

- The maximum sensitivity safety tray is activated by the burden of the waste with a single swing action.
- The safety-tilt mechanism releases the waste safely into the collector away from the person.
- The gravity balanced mechanism of the tray resets to an open secure-disposal place after each use until the container is full.
- When static or in motion, the swing-motion safety tray effectively conceals the aperture of the container to ensure no arms ever come into contact with contaminated sharps.

Concern for the potential health hazards of medical wastes grew in the 1980s after medical wastes were washing up on several east coast beaches. This prompted Congress to enact The MWTA of 1988. The MWTA was a two-yr federal program in which EPA was required to promulgate rules on administration of medical waste. The Company did so on March 24, 1989. The laws for this two 12 months program went into effect on June 24, 1989 in four states - New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island and Puerto Rico. The regulations expired on June 21, 1991.