It's against the law to throw syringes in the garbage. Instead, drop discarded syringes and sharps containers at any of the free 24-hour sharps drop boxes listed below, or take them to a Metro Household Hazardous Waste Facility.

Do not dispose of medical sharps or other waste in syringe disposal boxes intended for community disposal. If you have questions about medical waste disposal or find an illegal dump on public property, contact Metro at 503-234-3000. If you find discarded syringes in Portland’s city center and don’t feel comfortable picking it up, call Downtown Clean & Safe at 503-388-3888 to report the waste.

Free 24-hour syringe drop boxes

Other syringe drop sites

Metro accepts all discarded syringes, including medical waste. Do not dispose of household medical sharps or other waste in syringe disposal boxes intended for community disposal. For households where syringes are used, place syringes in a sharps container and take them to a hazardous waste center:

A $5 hazardous waste fee for up to 35 gallons is required at Metro facilities. Enroll in the Metro syringe disposal program for $5 and get a free sharps container each time you return one. 

Group homes, residential care facilities and other commercial or business customers should contact a medical waste management company, their garbage hauler or Metro’s recycling hotline for disposal options. 

If you have questions about medical waste disposal, contact Metro at 503-234-3000.