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Sharps Disposed in Recycling Bins Pose Serious Health Threat on Recycling Sort Line Workers at BuRRT

Santa Fe, NM – October 24, 2012 - Recently, there has been an increase in household generated “sharps” seen on the recycling sort line at the Buckman Road Recycling and Transfer Station (BuRRT) in Santa Fe. Sharps include hypodermic needles, syringes, and lancets. They are typically used in the home for insulin injection or for administering medications to treat other chronic diseases such as allergies, diabetes, arthritis, hepatitis B, and HIV.

“When folks do not dispose of their sharps or needles properly, they are putting our workers at risk of getting struck by the needle and contracting a disease. Human beings are sorting our recyclables, not machines, and even though they wear the proper safety equipment, needles can penetrate through their gloves,” states Mike Smith, BuRRT Site Manager.

It is legal in Santa Fe to put sharps in your trash container, as long as they are not thrown in loosely. Residents can use an empty laundry detergent bottle with a screw-on lid to store and dispose of used sharps. Once the laundry detergent bottle is full, secure the lid tightly and place it in your trash container. It is recommended to label the bottle with “Needles or Sharps” so that it does not pose a risk to your family, neighbors, or trash collector. Do not store used sharps in glass bottles, soda bottles, milk jugs, aluminum cans, or coffee cans which may break or lacks a secure lid. Always keep storage containers for used sharps out of the reach of children.

Managing and disposing of household generated sharps safely reduces pollution to the environment and prevents injury and disease transmission from needle-sticks. Sharps should NEVER be put in recycling bins, left on streets, in parks, or anywhere else where they could injure someone.

For more information on proper waste disposal and recycling, visit www.SantaFeRecycling.org