Sharps Collection Program

 a man with gloves and tongs picking up a syringe from playground equipment.

The Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) Sharps Collection Program provides safe disposal of "sharps" (syringes, needles, and lancets) with the following services: removal of sharps from public property within 24 hours and securing sharps disposal boxes throughout the city.

 

Reporting Sharps for Removal From Public Property

If you find a syringe on public property (sidewalks, parking strips, streets, other public rights-of-way, or on the grounds of City facilities), report it to:

 

Where to Dispose of Sharps

Sharps are not allowed in the garbage in Seattle because they can injure residents, garbage collection workers, and other employees that handle the garbage. Always use a designated sharps disposal container for used sharps. View the map below or download a PDF map of all drop-off locations.

Secure sharps disposal box locations

Two types of sharps disposal box locations are listed below.

gloved hands putting a sharps container into a mailbox-sized collection bin.

Large, mailbox-sized bins available outdoors, 24/7:
(for disposal of containers up to 2 liters)

  • Airport Way S (Airport Way S & S Holgate St, Seattle, WA 98134)
  • Albert Davis Park (12526 27th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125)
  • Ballard Brewery District (Leary Way NW between NW Ballard Way & 9th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107)
  • Bitter Lake Playfield (13035 Linden Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133)
  • Cal Anderson Park (1635 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122)
  • Freeway Park (700 Seneca St, Seattle, WA 98101)
  • Fremont Canal Park (199 N Canal St, Seattle, WA 98107)
  • Georgetown Playfield (750 S Homer St, Seattle, WA 98108)
  • International District (S King St & 10th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104)
  • Lower Kinnear Park Tennis Courts (899 W Olympic Pl, Seattle, WA 98119)
  • Mineral Springs Park (1500 N 105th St, Seattle, WA 98133)
  • Mt. Baker (27th Ave S & S Winthrop St center median, Seattle, WA 98144)
  • N 89th St & Aurora Ave N (8821 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103)
  • Othello Park (4351 S Othello St, Seattle, WA 98118)
  • Rainier Ave S & I-90 Trail (1199 Hiawatha Pl S, Seattle, WA 98144)
  • Ravenna Park (Cowen PL NE & 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115)
  • Roxhill Park (9250 29th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98126)
  • SODO (Utah Ave S & S Holgate St, Seattle, WA 98134)
  • U-District (NE 47th St & Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105)

Smaller disposal bins:
(for disposal of single sharps only)

  • Ballard Commons Park (5701 22nd Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107)
  • Denny Park, middle of the park (100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109)

Disposal box locations are distributed across all geographic sectors of Seattle. These include areas where reports of sharps on public property have been relatively high and in visible areas where space is available on public property.

Other sharps disposal locations:

In addition to the city-wide disposal boxes, sharps can be disposed at:

 

Removing Sharps Found on Private Property

Please see our video on how to pick up sharps safely.

If you find a syringe on private property, do not pick it up with your bare hands. Follow the sharps handling instructions below. If you are unsure if the item you are reporting is on public property, call the Customer Service Bureau, (206) 684-2489 (CITY), for more information.

Sharps handling instructions

  • Do not pick them up with your bare hands. Use a glove and tongs, shovel, or broom and dustpan.
  • Place used sharps and syringes in a manufactured sharps container (purchase at pharmacies) or a 2-liter plastic soda pop bottle. Make sure the lid fits tightly and tape it shut. If you use a plastic pop bottle, label it: "SHARPS, DO NOT RECYCLE."
  • Do not break the needle off from the syringe. If the needle gets broken off from a syringe you have personally used, pull the plunger out of the barrel, put the needle in the barrel, and then replace the plunger.
  • Do not put sharps in the garbage. See the disposal options above.

Public Utilities

Andrew Lee, General Manager and CEO
Address: 700 5th Avenue, Suite 4900, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 34018, Seattle, WA, 98124-5177
Phone: (206) 684-3000
SPUCustomerService@seattle.gov

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Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is comprised of three major direct-service providing utilities: the Water Utility, the Drainage and Wastewater Utility, and the Solid Waste Utility.