A device for severing syringe needles and storing the same for later disposal includes a lower box portion with a substantially flat bottom hinged to an upper lid portion, and a guillotine-like mechanism and an adjacent diaphragm spanning the two portions of an opposing side of the device. The guillotine preferably includes an angled blade in cross section such that when the needle is cut it is projected further through the diaphragm and into the device. The overall configuration and severing operation is in some ways akin to that of a stapler, in that a used syringe needle is inserted into a small gap between the two portions, and the top pushed down operating the guillotine to remove and retain the needle.