Disposal of sharps (e.g., needles and syringes) at state institutions including Illinois falls under specific medical waste regulations defined by the Illinois EPA. Compliance is outlined in the Illinois Campus Administrative Manual. Students at Illinois who use sharps for medical reasons are required to dispose of those sharps in accordance with those regulations and the campus sharps program. Students should know about use and disposal guidelines of personal-use needles and syringes.
If you reside in any of the following facilities and need to dispose of needles and/or syringes, you should participate in the campus sharps program:
Participation in the program is easy, and waste containers are free:
Sharps disposal containers are only for items defined as sharps. Other waste such as Band Aids or Kleenex should be disposed of in the regular trash.
The Illinois EPA provides the following recommendations for disposal from private households: