On January 5, 2023, the City of Longview mailed a letter to homes in a residential neighborhood after a large number of hypodermic needles were found in the City’s sewer system during a routine sewer cleanout. The letters reminded residents to dispose of hypodermic needles in an appropriate Sharps container and not to flush or place them into the city’s sewer system. During recent sewer cleanouts in this small neighborhood, the City is no longer finding hypodermic needles and appreciates the cooperation of the residents.
The City would like to remind all its residents to use appropriate containers to property dispose of hypodermic needles. FDA-cleared Sharps containers are generally available through medical supply companies, health care providers, pharmacies and online. If an FDA-cleared container is not available, some household containers can have features of an acceptable Sharps disposal container.
Acceptable sharps disposal container should be:
- Made of heavy-duty leak resistant plastic
- Able to stand upright during use
- Has a puncture resistant lid that closely tightly
- Labeled as a hazardous waste
Find out more information about how to safely dispose of needles in this FDA-document. Sharps disposal options can be found at Washington – Safe Needle Disposal.
For questions or concerns, please call us at 360.442.5200 or email publicworks@ci.longview.wa.us
Original source can be found here.
