Preventing Sharps Injuries
To avoid needle-stick injury after an injection, the used needle should be immediately deposited into a safety box or container to prevent direct access, not recapped. Safety boxes must be made of puncture-proof material. While single-use syringes and needles should never be reused, it is possible to consider the recycling of safety boxes. However, special boxes and decontamination procedure must be strictly followed. (See http://www.noharm.org/.) The use of safety boxes should not be regarded as the end of the safe disposal of used needles or syringes. Final appropriate and safe disposal requires systematic considerations.