Medical Waste, Prescriptions, Sharps Disposal

Medical Waste

Stericycle offers disposal services for sharps and other medical waste. See the web site for contact information.

Sharps Disposal

Residential sharps (needles and diabetic lancets) are both dangerous and a biological hazard. Proper management is required to prevent injury and the spread of disease. Please use an approved sharps container for needles and lancets. Containers of sharps from a RESIDENTIAL USER ONLY, 1 Gallon per residential customer per day limit may be safely disposed of at the Lewis County Central Transfer Station (look for the sharps disposal barrel near the entrance to the Hazo Hut) and the East Lewis County Transfer Station (look for the sharps disposal barrel in the covered awning across from the scale house).+

Business customers are PROHIBITED from dropping off SHARPS, NEEDLES, LANCETS or OTHER MEDICAL WASTE at the transfer stations. Please contract with a medical waste disposal facility, such as Stericycle. See Stericycle's web site for contact information.

Prescription Medicine Take Back Program for Left-Over Pharmaceuticals

Safe Medication Return is a unified, statewide program that gives Washington residents free, convenient, and environmentally responsible options to dispose of unwanted medication. Drug manufacturers fund the program at no cost to taxpayers. Safe Medication Return is operated by MED-Project, our approved program operator. The Department of Health oversees the establishment of the program, monitors on-going operations, manages enforcement when compliance issues arise, and evaluates program effectiveness.

RCW 69.48 established Washington’s Safe Medication Return program (also known as the Drug Take-Back program). Washington state medicine take-back program. There are several sites in Lewis County. Please click here for the site's location finder.

Please do not flush medications down the toilet, or dispose of them in the trash. Here is a list of items you can include in this program:

  • Prescription medications
  • Non-prescription (over-the-counter medications)
  • Controlled substances (such as OxyContin, Ritalin)
  • Pet medications

Items not included in medicine take back programs

There are many items that are not accepted in a medicine take back program. These include:

  • Herbal remedies
  • Vitamins
  • Supplements
  • Cosmetics
  • Personal care products
  • Aerosols
  • Pet pesticide products
  • Exposed sharps
  • Illicit drugs
  • Medicines from businesses