Frequently Asked
Questions

Yes. If your business generates sharps waste as part of commercial operations — dental, tattoo, veterinary, medical spa, pharmacy, etc. — you are required by federal OSHA regulations and NC state law to use a licensed, commercial disposal service. Personal household sharps disposal rules (mail-back kits, pharmacy drop-offs) do not satisfy the requirements for businesses registered with the state.

OSHA can impose fines up to $15,625 per willful or repeat violation as of 2024. Even "serious" first-time violations can result in fines up to $15,625. NC DENR can issue separate state-level penalties. Repeat violations or violations causing injury can result in significantly higher fines, criminal referrals, and license actions. The financial risk of non-compliance far exceeds the cost of a proper disposal program.

Tattoo studios in North Carolina are regulated under 15A NCAC 18A (NC Department of Health and Human Services). This regulation requires documented sharps disposal through a licensed waste management company. In addition, if you have employees, OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogen Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030) requires a written Exposure Control Plan, annual employee training, and compliant sharps containers. County health inspectors can visit unannounced to verify compliance.

An Exposure Control Plan (ECP) is a written document required by OSHA for any employer with employees who may be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM). It must describe how your business will identify and protect at-risk employees, how sharps are disposed of, how incidents are handled, and how training is documented. Dental offices, tattoo studios, vet clinics, and medspas all typically need one. SharpSafe includes an ECP template in our Professional and Enterprise plans, and our team will help you customize it for your specific operations.

Federal OSHA regulations require employee training records to be maintained for 3 years. NC DENR requires regulated medical waste tracking and manifest records to be maintained for a minimum of 3 years as well. SharpSafe's digital archiving system maintains your waste manifests and certificates of treatment for the required period, and we make these available to you at any time for inspection purposes.

OSHA inspectors can arrive unannounced (or following a complaint) and will typically request: your written Exposure Control Plan, employee training records from the past year, records of sharps container maintenance and disposal, documentation of any needlestick incidents and follow-up, and a physical inspection of sharps container placement and labeling. SharpSafe customers have all of these documents ready to present within minutes. We recommend requesting a free compliance assessment from our team annually to verify your records are current and complete.

We provide 1-quart, 1-gallon, 2-gallon, 5-gallon, and 8-gallon FDA-cleared sharps containers. All containers are puncture-resistant, leak-proof, and labeled in compliance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030. During your free compliance assessment, we'll recommend the right sizes based on your procedures and patient volume. Containers are included in your monthly plan — no separate purchase required.

After every service, you receive: (1) A waste manifest — the official chain-of-custody document showing your waste was properly transported and transferred to a licensed facility. (2) A Certificate of Treatment — confirming your waste was processed at an NC DENR-permitted treatment facility. Both documents are emailed to you same-day and archived in our system for easy retrieval during OSHA or DENR inspections.

Yes. We handle all regulated medical waste streams: sharps, pathological waste (tissues, biopsy samples), cultures and stocks, liquid blood and blood products, and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM). Not all waste types are included in every plan by default — contact us and we'll design a plan that covers your specific waste streams. Additional waste types are quoted based on volume.

Our primary service area covers Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, and Rowan counties — the greater Charlotte 7-county metro. If your business is located within these counties, we can serve you. For businesses just outside this area, please contact us — we may be able to accommodate you on an existing route or plan future expansion to your area.

Never fill a sharps container more than 3/4 full. If yours fills before your scheduled pickup, call us immediately. For existing customers, we offer on-call pickups — typically within 24–48 hours. We'll also review your usage pattern and recommend upgrading your plan or adjusting your collection frequency to prevent this from recurring. Your safety and compliance are never put at risk by a full container.

Correct — zero hidden fees. The monthly rate you agree to includes containers, scheduled pickup, transport, treatment, waste manifests, and certificates of treatment. There are no fuel surcharges, environmental compliance fees, administrative fees, regulatory fees, or any other surcharges that national providers routinely add. The number on your quote is the number on your invoice, every month.

Yes. All monthly plans require 30 days written notice to cancel, after which your service ends and billing stops. No early termination fees, no penalties, no complicated exit processes. Annual plans (which save you 15%) are refunded on a pro-rated basis if you cancel mid-year. This is a fundamental difference from national providers who often impose 1–5 year contract terms with significant early termination penalties.

We typically cost 25–40% less than national providers like Stericycle, Clean Harbors, or Daniels, for equivalent service. The savings are often larger when you factor in: national providers' hidden surcharges (fuel, environmental, admin), their annual rate increases (typically 15–40%), and the cost of their required contracts. Many of our customers who switched saved over $1,000 in year one alone.

If you're currently using a national provider (Stericycle, Clean Harbors, Daniels, Sharps Compliance, etc.), sign up for any SharpSafe plan and show us documentation of your existing account. We'll discount your first 3 months by 25%. We'll also provide a template cancellation letter to send to your existing provider. Some national provider contracts have exit procedures — we'll help you navigate those at no charge.

Yes. Businesses operating 2 or more locations in our service area receive a 10% multi-location discount. Groups with 5 or more locations receive a 20% discount. We also offer consolidated billing, single-point account management, and unified documentation across all locations. Contact us for a group pricing quote for your dental group, veterinary practice group, or other multi-site operation.

Most businesses are up and running within 2–5 business days. After your free compliance assessment and plan selection, we'll schedule an initial visit to deliver your containers and conduct a brief orientation for your staff. Your first official pickup is typically scheduled that same week. Rush setup is available — call us if you have a compliance deadline or upcoming inspection.

Our compliance assessment is a 20–30 minute conversation (phone or in-person) where we review: what types of sharps and waste your business generates, approximate monthly volumes, number of employees potentially exposed to sharps, your current disposal process and documentation, any previous citations or compliance concerns, and what your ideal service schedule looks like. At the end, we recommend the right plan and provide a no-obligation quote.

Very little. On your first visit, our technician will place your new containers, review handling guidelines with your staff, confirm your service schedule, and collect any existing waste you have on-hand. Going forward, your staff simply fills the containers and places them in the designated location before your scheduled pickup. We handle everything else.

First, review your current contract for any termination notice requirements (typically 30–90 days). We provide a template cancellation letter you can customize and send. Once you have a confirmed cancellation date with your existing provider, schedule your SharpSafe start date. If there's any overlap period where you need both services briefly, that's fine — we'll work around your timeline. If you're worried about your existing contract's exit terms, our team has experience helping customers navigate this.

You call or email us directly. (704) 555-0172 or info@sharpsafesolutions.com. You'll reach someone on our Charlotte team who knows your account. We don't route you through a national call center. For Professional and Enterprise customers, you have the direct number for your assigned account manager. We return all calls within the same business day — typically within 2 hours during business hours (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm).