Sharps Waste
Reusable Sharps Container Exchange Program
Laboratory personnel who generate sharps waste are required to utilize approved containers for the collection of sharps waste within the lab. When containers are full*, lab personnel in the Life Sciences and CMM Buildings, as well as those in the Clinical and Basic Science Towers, must bring the containers to a conveniently located central location each Wednesday at the designated time.
* Please utilize the "fill" line on the side of each Daniels sharps container to ensure they are not overfilled. In general, sharps containers should not be filled in excess of 75% container capacity.
Sharps waste generated in areas not specifically listed/identified above shall continue to be managed according to current policies, procedures and guidelines (see guidance below).
*** IMPORTANT *** Reusable sharps containers should no longer be placed outside of your laboratory door to await pickup, but rather should be maintained in an area inside of your lab until you're ready to bring them to the designated drop off location.
Prior to bringing your full sharps containers down to EH&S personnel, please be sure that the sharps container is fully closed, securely locked and free from gross contamination.
EH&S Staff will provide you with a clean replacement container for each full one you bring down.
For further instruction on how to properly close/lock your sharps container, please see the instructional material below:
- Sharpsmart Access Plus Container Instructions For Use
- Sharpsmart Access Plus Container Instructions For Use (Spanish)
- Sharpsmart Standard Container Instructions For Use
- Sharpsmart Standard Container Instructions For Use (Spanish)
Additional Resources
- Collection Calendar
- Frequently Asked Questions
- About the Container
- Sharps and Regulated Medical Waste Segregation Guide
- Sharpsmart Safety Poster
- Sharpsmart Safety Poster (Spanish)
- Sharpsmart Brochure
- Reusable vs Recycle
- Sharpsmart Video
- Regulated Medical Waste Poster
- Sharps Safety
Disposable Sharps Container Program
Sharps waste generated in areas not specifically listed/identified above shall utilize industry approved disposable sharps containers that meet the specific needs of their laboratory operations and processes. These containers can be purchased through an approved vendor, such as Fisher Scientific (see below for Fisher Scientific disposable sharps container purchasing information) when EH&S supplies are exhausted or a type/size desired for your space is not available through EH&S. You are not limited to utilizing Fisher Scientific sharps containers as there are many similar containers that can be found through a number of online or catalog companies.
To order through Fisher Scientific, please navigate to their website at www.fishersci.com and reference catalog number 14-826-126 (through the 14-826-139 series) in the search engine.
Disposable sharps containers may be brought to any of the regularly scheduled hazardous waste pickups identified on the Waste Collection Calendar for proper disposal through EH&S.
Alternatively, disposable sharps containers and the contents therein may be packaged into a RMW red bag/box setup as long as the lid is securely affixed to the container and that you TAPE THE LID CLOSED with the same type of tape used to seal the RMW boxes to ensure that nothing escapes from the sharps container(s) packed inside, which could cause serious injury.
For more information on sharps container management and disposal options, please contact the program contact(s) listed below.
Walter Julias
Laboratory & Hazardous Waste Manager
Tel: (631) 632-3739
E-mail: Walter.Julias@stonybrook.edu
