Sharps Waste

Although disposal of medicinal waste is part of a community pharmacy’s essential services, handling of sharps waste is not. This falls under local Authority contracting. To meet the public need for the disposal of sharps waste, which is required for the administration of medicines, the local authorities commission select pharmacies to meet this need.

A list of Pharmacies in Norfolk that collect sharps waste on behalf of the local authority can be found here.

For Suffolk please see information here.

Please contact your CPNS team for information on sharps waste commissioning.

Further information on Needle Exchange and Sharps disposal for harm reduction in substance misuse can be found on the links below.

Norfolk Supervised Consumption & Needle Exchange

Suffolk Supervised Consumption, Needle Exchange and Naloxone

This information is intended for Community Pharmacies, members of the public should note:

Please don’t place sharps in your rubbish or recycling bin as they’re extremely dangerous.

Sharps include:

• diabetic blood testing kits
• insulin pen needles
• syringe needles for medical injections

Please make sure you dispose of these responsibly. Ask your doctor for a sharps box, and use the links above for safe disposal, depending on your area.