Sure they were! They're key safety infrastructure in response to a universal problem to keep needles out of the trash. People being harmed by needle stick injuries don't care if the needles are being improperly disposed of due to illegal drug use, or legal injections.
Where I live, needle disposal boxes are available in almost all institutional restrooms. I'm not sure why you think the yellow light is relevant.
Here's a history of the problem in San Francisco. My memories of the issue in Washington/Oregon around the same time are similar:
Where I live, needle disposal boxes are available in almost all institutional restrooms. I'm not sure why you think the yellow light is relevant.
Here's a history of the problem in San Francisco. My memories of the issue in Washington/Oregon around the same time are similar:
https://www.japha.org/article/S1086-5802(15)30128-5/abstract
Another article, again highlighting that the focus on needle disposal is keeping all needles out of the trash, as a broader occupational safety issue:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/014572179402000...