I just came up with an idea yesterday when changing the needle in the sewing machine I have upstairs. In the basement I keep a baby food jar with a hole in the top for inserting discarded needles and bent and damaged pins. I didn't want to trek to the basement, so I put the old needle in the plastic case the new needle came in and wrote on the case that it was used. Now I can throw it out with the trash, so from now on I will save the plastic cases the needles come in.