Patent ID: 7850646

Claim:
A method for disposal into a container of a needle mounted on a syringe via a push-fit mounting device, said syringe having a barrel to receive a cartridge of injectable liquid with a forward end onto which the mounting device is push-fit, a plunger mechanism connected to a rearward end of the barrel, and a sleeve mounted relative to the barrel so as to be slidable forwards to a position at which it sheaths the needle, and said container having a disposal chamber with an opening thereto provided with a receiving structure having a gripper device, said method comprising: presenting the syringe to the receiving structure with the needle sheathed by the sleeve, pushing back the sleeve to expose the needle, wherein the receiving structure engages a part of the sleeve so as to push back the sleeve, and passing the mounting device beyond the gripper device, and withdrawing the syringe so that the needle with the mounting device is pulled off the syringe barrel, for deposit in the disposal chamber, by engagement of the mounting device with the gripper device.