Arlington's New Monthly Recycling Center on Saturday

ARLINGTON, MA - A “sharps” collection will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 6 at the town’s Department of Public Works parking lot, 51 Grove St. Local health officials are urging residents to drop off their used needles, syringes and lancets.The event will be part of DPW’s new monthly recycling center.

Health officials will be advising the community about the procedure to properly dispose of their sharps.

Residents are reminded to never toss needles or syringes in the garbage, where they could potentially harm others. Instead, the Department of Health and Human Services asks that used sharps be brought to collection events in red biohazard containers for disposal.

The biohazard containers may be purchased online, at your local pharmacy, or through the Department of Health and Human Services at drop-off.

Sharps disposal requests are among the most frequent calls and electronic inquiries the health department receives and, by teaming up with DPW, officials are continuously working to increase the number of opportunities for residents to correctly and safely discard their sharps.

“Our goal is to give residents an opportunity to safely dispose of their used medical sharps, as we frequently get inquiries as to where these items can be discarded,” said Christine Bongiorno, director of Arlington’s Health and Human Services, in a statement. “Please remember to put all items in an approved container to ensure those handling them are protected.”

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