Recently there's been an increase in the number of needles found in blue recycling carts by staff at the Waste and Recycling Centre.
Hazardous materials such as needles can pose a risk to staff as well as our Waste Collection Operators. Needles should never be placed in your blue recycling cart and need to be disposed of properly.
To dispose of needles, place them into a labelled sharps container and take the container to a pharmacy participating in the ENVIRx Program. For participating locations, click here.
Alternatively, to keep needles and syringes out of the regular waste stream, they can be placed inside a labelled and sealed sharps container and dropped off at the Waste & Recycling Centre. Please speak to the scalehouse operator for directions to the designated area on site.
Additionally, there are 20 needle disposal boxes placed around the city, which are painted yellow and have a single, round opening on the side for collecting used needles. For disposal box locations click here.
If you come across a needle in a public place, you can contact the needle pick-up hotline at 403-332-0722.
If you are unsure about how to dispose of an item, you can contact 311 or use the waste wizard at lethbridge.ca/waste-wizard. For more information on putting your waste in the right place, visit: https://curbside.lethbridge.ca/.
For Public Inquiries:
Call 311 | Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Media Contact:
media@lethbridge.ca
