Medical Waste Disposal Blog

Learn how to properly dispose of trace chemotherapy waste. Covers RCRA guidelines, container requirements, bulk vs trace classification, and disposal methods.

Learn how to safely dispose of used Ozempic pens and needles at home. Step-by-step guide covering sharps containers, NovoCare disposal options, and safe handling.

Used Wegovy pens must be placed in a puncture-resistant sharps container immediately after injection — never in household trash or recycling. Wegovy is a single-dose prefilled pen, so the entire pen goes into the sharps container after each weekly injection. When the sharps container is approximately three-quarters full, seal it and dispose of it through a mail-back sharps disposal program, a local drop-off site, or a household hazardous waste collection event. Wegovy's manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, also offers a free sharps disposal container program through NovoCare as part of their Drug Disposal Program.

Used Zepbound pens must be placed in a puncture-resistant sharps container immediately after injection — never in household trash or recycling. If you use the single-dose Zepbound pen, the entire pen goes into the sharps container after use. If you use the Zepbound KwikPen, remove the used needle after each injection and place it in the sharps container, then discard the full KwikPen after completing all four weekly doses. When the sharps container is about three-quarters full, seal it and dispose of it through a mail-back sharps disposal, a local drop-off site, or a household hazardous waste collection event.

Used Mounjaro pens must be placed in a puncture-resistant sharps container immediately after injection — never in household trash or recycling.

Used needles should never be thrown loose in household trash. Place used needles immediately into a puncture-resistant sharps container.

If you use injectable medications at home or work in a healthcare setting, you’ve probably been told to use a sharps container. But many people still ask:

What exactly goes in a sharps container?