Council offers local residents a free disposal service for used hypodermic needles and syringes.  

This service is not available to commercial operators, who should contact a medical waste disposal service.

Syringe, needle and sharps disposal

To use the disposal service with Council:

1. Call into one of our service centres and ask for a sharps container
2. Bring the container back to either Nunawading or Box Hill service centre for replacement when it has been filled with used syringes and needles – Please ensure the lid is tightly fitted

	Disposal*	Collection**	Opening Hours
Nunawading Civic Centre	✔	✔	Monday-Friday, 9am - 5pm
Box Hill Town Hall – Customer Service Hub	✔	✔	Monday: Closed Tuesday-Friday, 9am - 1pm
Forest Hill – Customer Service Hub	❌	✔	Monday: Closed Tuesday-Friday, 9am - 1pm

*The sharps disposal service is available to Whitehorse residents only
**Collect new, empty sharps containers

Council staff are unable to accept used syringes and needles unless they are safely inside an approved sharps container. These items are designated as biologically hazardous and require safe disposal.

We have a contract with an EPA-approved medical waste disposal contractor, who transports these containers and their contents to a high-temperature incinerator for safe disposal.

Other sharps collection centres

healthAbility provide a Needle and Syringe program (NSP/CHOPER) for safe disposal of used syringes for all members of the public. 

You may wish to contact the services below prior to collecting your sharps container to ensure availability and fee (if applicable).

Name	Address	Contact
healthAbility	Level 2 2/43 Carrington Rd Box Hill	8843 2222
Amcal Wattle Park	1123 Riversdale Rd Surrey Hills	8319 5745
Amcal Burwood Hwy	140 Burwood Hwy Burwood	9808 1289

Check Department of Health website and refer to the map for more locations.

If you find a syringe

On private land	If you come across a discarded syringe, do not attempt to pick it up. Contact healthAbility’s CHOPER service which is a mobile outreach program that collects inappropriately discarded needles/syringes.
On Council land	Contact Council on 9262 6333 and report the exact location of the syringe. We will collect the syringe as soon as possible.

Pharmaceuticals and medicines disposal

Local residents can drop off unwanted prescription tablets, liquids and ointments to their local pharmacy, where the pharmacist will place medicines in a secure bin for collection and safe disposal.

These items may pose a risk to our environment if flushed into the sewerage system and are likely to pose a serious health risk to anyone consuming them without doctor's advice. 

Returned Unwanted Medicines (or the RUM Project) is an initiative that provides consumers with a free and convenient way to dispose of expired and unwanted medicines. Anyone can return their household medicines to any community pharmacy anytime, for safe collection and disposal.