SHREWSBURY – There’s a new way for Shrewsbury residents to dispose of Sharps safely.
In November, the town unveiled a high-tech Sharps disposal machine at the Shrewsbury Fire Department’s main station, located at 11 Church Street. Since that point, the department has safely dealt with hundreds of needles.
Prior to the machine, residents would drop by Town Hall to dispose of Sharps, and the Health Department used a contracted service to dispose of them. Using opioid settlement funds, the town purchased this machine, which uses steam to sterilize the needles, grinds them into a confetti-like pulp, and deposits them in a trash bag – which can be thrown away like anything else.
“It’s been very good,” said Fire Chief Seth Colby. “We started at the end of November. Residents can bring sharps right here, we have the machine right in our lobby. It sterilizes it, drops it down through a grinder, and from there, it becomes unregulated trash.”…