Sharps waste is a stream of biomedical waste composed of used "sharps"-- these include any device or object used to puncture or lacerate the skin. Common items that would typically be disposed of in a sharps container are: disposable scalpels and blades, hypodermic needles and lancets, broken capillary tubes, broken rigid plastic, and culture slides. All used sharps must be disposed of in an approved sharps disposal container.