| Steve, My small Iowa town has a $500 fine for putting needles and lancets in the trash. It has not been enforced to my knowledge and there are a lot of people that put them in the trash. I pay my fee and dispose at the hazardous waste site provided in our county. There are other sites, some hospitals, pharmacies, that will take sharps containers if properly sealed.
I use kleenex or like tissue to wipe my fingers and dispose of in the trash. I wrap the test strip in them also. I also put this in a plastic bag that the groceries come in and tie them to put in our orange trash bags the city requires all residents to use. When replacing lancets, I use the protector tab from the new one to stick the old one in and put it in the trash (about two lancets per year).
Bob | 
