TriHaz Solutions Blog

If your workplace is a hazardous waste generator, you should know that you are responsible for that waste even after it leaves your facility. That’s why each package of waste in every load picked up by your waste services provider must be clearly marked with your facility’s name and contact information. This makes it easy to identify who is to be held accountable for any harm that waste might cause to the public or the environment.

Dealing with pharmaceutical waste properly is very important, since getting it wrong can cause harm to people, animals and the environment, and can also have legal consequences for your facility. However, proper management of pharma waste can also be a very complicated and confusing process, given the number and complexity of state and federal regulations that apply to it. So what do you need to know to help ensure that you’re dealing with waste in a safe and compliant manner?

If your workplace generates regulated medical, pharmaceutical or hazardous waste, having a good handle on the regulatory requirements in regards to handling, transporting and storing that waste is essential. While there are many state and federal agencies that have a hand in regulating this process, the basic framework upon which most of that regulation is based come from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). That means that understanding your responsibilities under the law starts with learning the requirements laid out by RCRA.

Pharmaceutical waste is one of the more complex categories of medical waste in terms of the regulations and procedures that govern its' proper segregation and disposal. There is good reason for this, since pharmaceutical waste, particularly listed waste, has the potential to be very harmful to people, animals and the environment. Given these facts, it is clearly quite important for those who hold administrative positions in healthcare or pharmacy settings to be well-informed on the details of these waste streams. So here, we’ll go over the basics on pharmaceutical listed waste and why it’s dangerous.

Most people grow up knowing what blood is, never giving it a second thought. It’s only when you reach adulthood that it becomes clear just how much of a life-giving role blood plays in our systems. In and of itself, blood is neither safe nor unsafe, but waste that consists of blood and blood products is a different story.

The handling of medical waste is an important process, helping to minimize risks to your staff, your patients, the public and the environment from hazards presented by these waste products. If you are a practice manager or healthcare administrator, you know that a safe and efficient medical waste disposal process is also essential to keeping your workplace in compliance with federal and state waste management regulations.

Most people who work within the healthcare industry, whether they are clinical staff or in administrative positions, are aware that red waste bags are specially made to isolate certain types of medical waste. These are waste products that can pose an infection hazard should they be mixed with regular trash that is likely to end up in the local landfill. However, the rules on medical waste disposal can be confusing, and things can get murky when it comes to determining just which waste products belong in these bags and which do not.

Every medical facility administrator knows that medical waste requires proper management to ensure safety of the general population, animals, and the environment. Compliance with local, state, and federal regulations are an important part of the job function.

If you own or manage a funeral home, managing the regulated medical and hazardous waste streams produced by your work can be a complex and confusing process. You are probably quite clear on when your responsibility for that waste begins – the moment it is produced. However, a point that often causes confusion about the funeral home waste disposal process is the question of just where a funeral home’s responsibility ends. You might, quite reasonably, feel that your responsibility has ended when you hand your waste products over to your waste service provider. However, that is not the case. Your responsibility extends well beyond your waste pick-up appointment.

If you manage a veterinary hospital or practice, you probably already know that your workplace is considered a medical/hazardous waste generator. As such, it is subject to many of the same federal and state waste disposal regulations that human healthcare facilities must follow to protect their workers, their patients, the public and the environment from harm. That means that knowing how to properly classify, handle and dispose of the regulated medical/hazardous waste your facility generates is essential to avoiding legal issues. To help you get a handle on proper veterinary waste disposal, we’ve put together some basics on medical/hazardous waste management in the veterinary care setting.