Safe, anonymous, and free needle exchange in Salt Lake City
If you’re looking for harm reduction near you or a convenient syringe exchange, Salt Lake Harm Reduction Project is here for you with on-site and delivery options.
We do not require or ask for ID. We generally ask some basic questions like your name, living situation, and other health and demographic data, but we take your privacy seriously, and answering those questions is optional.
If this is your first time picking up, you do not need to bring anything to exchange, and we can provide up to four bags. Each bag contains 10 syringes with needles. We will also provide you with a code connected to your name to indicate you’ve exchanged once and are a returning participant going forward.
If you have exchanged in the past, you can use the code given to you by us or other providers, and you must bring syringes for exchange. These must be in a puncture-proof container. We provide free sharps containers and offer free sharps container disposal.
Utah law governs the number of needles in an exchange by rounding to the nearest tenth. For example, if you bring in 1-10 syringes, you'll get one bag of 10. If you bring in 11-20 syringes, you'll get two bags of 10, and so on. We can exchange up to 400 syringes per client per day.
You can also choose to be tested for HIV and hepatitis C (HCV), though this is not a requirement to exchange by any means. You can learn more about testing using these links: HIV testing and HCV testing.
If you wish to exchange in person, you can visit our offices at 1400 South 1100 East in Salt Lake City, Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We are closed on major holidays and sometimes for events. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
As a harm reduction center, we are also able to provide other supplies and resources, which include:
1/2” 28g syringes
5/16” 30g syringes
Naloxone IM and Narcan
Sharps containers, or you can make your own
Safe injection kits: cottons, alcohol prep pads, gauze, antibiotic ointment, band-aids, cookers, and tourniquets
HIV and HCV testing, linkage to care and treatment, transportation
COVID-19 tests, masks, linkage to care, transportation, and education
Food and clothing
Safe sex education, condoms, lube, Plan B, and birth control medication
Syringe Exchange Delivery Services
For everything from downtown needle exchanges to services in more rural areas, you can also request a delivery service.
Our delivery service is designed to meet you where you are. We arrive in an unmarked car and can meet you outside your home, at a park, or at most places where you feel comfortable. We do not enter buildings or residences.
Our model is designed to make deliveries efficiently, so we cover certain areas on certain days and schedule delivery times based on the rest of our route. Our schedule can fill up quickly, so we recommend contacting us in advance about your delivery!
Schedule:
Tuesday: Davis, Weber, and Salt Lake counties
Wednesday: Salt Lake County
Thursday: Salt Lake and Tooele counties
Friday: Salt Lake County
To schedule, send a text to our outreach line at 385-434-9324 anytime before 10 a.m. on the day you are requesting delivery. Please include the address where you would like us to meet in your text. We’ll get back to you with an estimated time for our arrival.
You can also request a food box from our free food pantry to accompany your delivery. Please let us know in your text if you’d like one.
Sharps container disposal in Utah
If you’ve ever wondered how to dispose of a sharps container, harm reduction clinics are a safe and private option.
We can bring a sharps container for you when we make deliveries, or you can pick one up for free at our office during business hours (10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Tuesday-Friday). We offer three sizes of sharps containers, ranging from small to large.
We are happy to accept sharps containers for disposal at our office. You can also dispose of containers in standard trash, but they MUST be in a sealed and puncture-proof container to do so. Additionally, you must mark the container to indicate its contents. We recommend sealing the opening with tape and writing “contains sharps” on the tape or container in large, legible letters.
While you can dispose of sharps containers this way, we strongly encourage people to bring their containers to our office or another location for proper disposal as medical waste.
What do I need to know about syringe exchange in Utah?
The Utah Legislature made syringe exchanges legal in 2016, and SHRP is one of at least 14 harm reduction programs offering exchanges in the state. We are proud to be part of the Utah Syringe Exchange Network, which offers free and confidential services to everyone. At Salt Lake Harm Reduction, we cultivate safe, friendly, and nonjudgmental spaces to offer folks the supplies they need for better health outcomes.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services notes on their website:
“Nearly 30 years of research show that comprehensive syringe services programs are safe, effective, and cost-saving. Research also shows these programs do not increase illegal drug use or crime and play an essential role in reducing the transmission of viral hepatitis C, HIV, and other infections.”