Dear all,

It has come to my attention that on two separate occasions a syringe/needle was disposed in an employee’s office trash can, without their knowledge. This is a serious safety issue not only for your fellow employee but the janitorial staff as well. California law prohibits regular trash disposal and states that these sharps are considered to be home-generated, are prohibited from being placed in a solid waste receptacle, and must be transported for disposal in a sharps waste container per HSC 118286 (text provided below). The following link is to the list of home-generated sharps consolidation points should you need to dispose of your personal sharp device. Also, the City of Sacramento requires facilities that sell syringes to also have to accept them for disposal, so there should be several collection points relatively close by. Other cities such as Richmond or Brea may also have the same requirement. Also, most drug stores sell sharps waste containers and may even have prepaid mail-back kits for sale. From this point forward I ask that no one dispose of their sharps devices/needles into any [work] trash can.