sMillions of people manage medical conditions at home with needles, syringes, lancets, and auto-injectors — collectively called “sharps.” Improperly discarded sharps can injure sanitation workers, children, and pets, and used needles can carry disease-causing blood or fluids for over a week.
Important: medication drop boxes do NOT accept sharps. The prescription drug take-back boxes at police departments (including Northbrook and Glenview) accept pills and patches only — never needles or syringes. Sharps are also not accepted at Illinois Household Hazardous Waste collection sites or events. Use one of the options below instead.
Option 1: Village Sharps Collection (Glenview)
The SWANCC-affiliated sharps collection program is administered through participating member villages. Locally, the Village of Glenview operates the collection: sharps recycling in the Village Hall lobby, 2500 East Lake Avenue, on the first Friday of every month. Glenview residents only. (Medications are no longer accepted at First Friday events — see our Medication Disposal page for the 24/7 options.)
If you live in the Road District’s unincorporated areas or outside Glenview, see Options 2 and 3 below — both work regardless of where you live.
Option 2: Mail-Back Programs
Mail-back programs let you place used sharps in a special container and ship them in accordance with U.S. Postal Service requirements — a good fit for homebound residents and anyone who values privacy. Note that mail-back services usually involve a fee. Some pharmaceutical manufacturers offer free mail-back containers with injectable medications — ask your pharmacist.
Find mail-back providers and local drop-off sites with the locator at safeneedledisposal.org — the same resource the Village of Glenview directs residents to for sharps drop-off locations in the surrounding area.
Option 3: Safe Home Disposal (Legal in Illinois)
For most Road District residents this is the simplest route: Illinois home sharps users may dispose of needles in household garbage if properly contained:
- Use a purchased sharps container from a pharmacy, or a heavy, puncture-proof plastic or metal container with a tight-fitting lid — an empty laundry detergent bottle works well.
- Write “SHARPS – DO NOT RECYCLE!” on the container with permanent marker.
- When full, seal the lid with heavy-duty tape.
- Place the sealed container in your garbage cart.
NEVER put sharps — even clipped needles or sealed containers — in the recycling cart. Keep storage containers out of reach of children and pets.
Questions?
Contact the Northfield Township Road District at (847) 724-7055 or ntroad@northfieldtownship.com.
This page is provided as a public service by the Northfield Township Road District. The Road District does not operate a sharps collection site; all programs listed are operated by the agencies named. Information current as of July 2026 — please verify program details directly with each provider.