FAQ

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) set the regulations for the collection, treatment, and disposal of biohazardous waste. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides additional guidelines for the management and disposal of biohazardous waste. Finally, state and local authorities, as well as universities and individual facilities, may impose their specific standards and practices as well.

Any waste stream that contains blood, body fluids, or other potentially infectious materials is considered an RMW, also known as “biomedical” or “infectious medical” waste.

When categorizing hazardous waste, the EPA breaks it down by four characteristics:

• Ignitability, or something flammable.
• Corrosivity, or something that can rust or decompose.
• Reactivity, or something explosive
• Toxicity, or something poisonous.

Any entity that transports toxic material must be properly permitted and licensed to do so. For the vast majority of hospitals & clinics, this means contracting a reputable company to transport RMW offsite to a treatment, storage, or disposal facility. Such waste must be accompanied by a specialized bill of lading, called a hazardous waste manifest. Other paperwork might be required, such as a land disposal restriction form. If required documentation is inaccurate or missing, legal culpability lies with your hospital or clinic, not with the transporter; therefore, it's extremely important to understand who you're partnering with and have full knowledge of any subhaulers or third parties.

Infectious medical waste is waste generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals that has been or is likely to have been contaminated by an organism capable of causing disease in healthy humans. While waste generators must follow CDC isolation precautions, most discarded biological waste products or materials that are potentially infectious can be disposed of as regulated medical waste.

Per federal regulation, medical waste generators are responsible for packaging and preparing their waste for collection. The process of preparing these wastes for collection is as follows:

• Line your container with a properly marked biohazard bag before use.
• Tie the bag when the container is full. Each bag must be hand-tied by gathering and twisting the neck of the bag.
• Secure the lid on the container. Make sure all closures and/or locking mechanisms are engaged. Red bags must not be visible once the container is closed.
• Check the containers' markings. Ensure that federal markings (biohazard symbol, this-side-up-arrows, regulated medical waste, N.O.S., and UN number) are present. 
  
  

Ensure you’re complying with your state regulations.

Medical waste should be contained separately from other waste at the point of origin. All regulated medical waste must be placed in a red bag or designated medical waste container (rigid, leakproof, and leak-resistant with a tight-fitting lid) labeled with the words "Biohazardous Waste" or with the international biohazard symbol and the word "BIOHAZARD."  Also in the state of Arkansas storage of medical waste shall be in a manner and location which affords protection from unauthorized entry, animals, adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, ice, sleet, hail and wind, does not provide a breeding place or a food source for insects and rodents and minimizes exposure of employees and the public. When waste is not being actively placed in storage, the area must be secured.

Yes! A large quantity generator has to ship all hazardous material every ninety days. Therefore, the label must include the important accumulation start date. If you’re ever inspected or audited, this number must not only be present on the label but also be accurate. Failure to comply with regulations can bring financial consequences or even stricter penalties, depending on the severity of the offense and whether this is your first violation versus being a persistent problem.

As glass is something that could potentially puncture skin, it is considered a sharp and should be disposed of in a safety-grade sharps container. Once in a sharps grade container, you can put the entire container in an RMW bin and it will be safely disposed of.

Not unless there are warranted exceptions. Linens are reused and therefore do not enter the waste stream. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Although soiled linen may harbor large numbers of pathogenic microorganisms, the risk of actual disease transmission from soiled linen is negligible…common-sense hygienic practices for processing and storage of linen are recommended." CDC website

Sharps waste is a stream of regulated medical waste composed of used "sharps", aka any device or object used to puncture or lacerate the skin. Common items typically categorized as sharps include hypodermic needles, disposable scalpels and blades, lancets, broken capillary tubes, and culture slides. All used sharps must be disposed of in an approved sharps disposal container.

Sharps containers are designed to contain needles, syringes, lancets, scalpels, and other sharp objects contaminated with blood or bodily fluids; gauze pads or other absorbent material that, when squeezed, would drip bodily fluids.

Once they are full and sealed, single-use sharps containers can be disposed of in the regulated medical waste stream. This is typically a cardboard box or container correctly labelled and designated for Regulated Medical Waste (red bag waste).

Sharps containers should never be filled more than the manufacturer’s recommended fill level. If the manufacturer has not specified a fill level, up to ¾ full is the maximum recommended level to fill the sharps container before replacing it.

Between 5% to 10% of pharmaceutical products are correctly classified as hazardous waste. Four questions must be answered to determine if a pharmaceutical product is regulated by the EPA as a hazardous waste:

• Is it a solid waste?
• Does it qualify for an exemption?
• Is it a characteristic waste?
• Is it a listed waste?"

Whether your generated waste is hazardous or nonhazardous, it’s the responsibility of the waste generator to create the actual profile. It requires a signature from a qualified and trained representative of the business (whether a manufacturer, a hospital, or a laboratory) to confirm what’s in the shipment. The paperwork is then sent to the Treatment and Disposal facility, where it’s reviewed to confirm that the facility can accept whatever is going to be in that shipment.

Often, the facility requires some form of proof to confirm that it can accept the shipment. This frequently comes in the form of analytical work or an SDS (Safety Data) sheet in order to confirm the content of the given shipment. This helps the receiving facility ensure they are clear to accept the shipment, and it provides insurance to that facility in case there are ever any discrepancies between what was stated on the profile and what was shipped.

Firstly, you will not be informed or alerted before a compliance-based inspection. The person leading that inspection will simply show up, ask for the person in charge of your facility, and commence the audit. This can happen at any time.

Because these kinds of inspections can happen without warning, you must be certain that you comply with all relevant regulations and rules at all times. Never wing it. Have a thorough, researched hazardous waste management plan, and be diligent about ensuring all employees follow that plan. From using the right hazardous waste label to ensuring you’re using the proper containers, this plan should cover every possible contingency.

A contingency plan will vary slightly for every company, depending on the type and amount of hazardous waste you produce. Whether you’re a small quantity generator or a large quantity generator, you must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Assign one or more people to be the emergency coordinator. Include the contact information for this person (or people) within the plan.
• Include the location of both emergency equipment and emergency telephones.
• Ensure all employees know this plan exists and are familiar with the procedures. (Obviously, an emergency is never planned or expected and can arise at any moment. Therefore, all employees need to be prepared and equipped to respond quickly and accurately to minimize safety hazards.)

Every drum filled with hazardous materials requires a yellow hazardous waste label that includes: 1. The words “hazardous waste.”, 2. Your generator information, 3. Any relevant EPA hazardous waste code, 4. Proper DOT shipping name and the Hazardous Waste Accumulation start date.

An autoclaving machine is a device that sterilizes regulated medical waste. It uses steam heated to approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit to achieve this sterilization.

Certain operating specifics about this machine vary from state to state. For example, some states require the sterilized waste to also be shredded before being landfilled. Other states do not require this extra step. The amount of time the biohazardous waste needs to be in the actual machine also varies from state to state.

Medical waste autoclaves are used specifically for regulated medical waste, which involves anything contaminated by blood, bodily fluids, or other potentially infectious materials. That includes:

• Used medical sharps and sharps containers.
• Bloody bandages or gauze.
• Masks or gowns (worn by doctors or patients).

Intended for businesses that don't typically generate hazardous waste. A provisional identification number is for locations that need to dispose of hazardous waste right away due to an emergency. Anything, if deemed an environmental hazard, a spill, or other kind of emergency, can set into motion the regulatory enforcement of the EPA and require your business to comply with hazardous waste requirements.