Medical Waste Articles

Table of Contents

1. What qualifies as regulated medical waste?
2. The flow of regulated medical waste
3. Sudden, extreme changes in demand flow
4. Importance of proper procedures
5. Proper segregation of waste
6. Don’t ignore risks
7. Who’s responsible?

In normal circumstances, U.S. hospitals produce more than five million tons of medical waste each year, or about 29 pounds from each staffed bed every day. Add in waste from other medical facilities, dental offices, pharmacies, veterinary clinics, funeral homes, and other medical waste generators, and that number is significantly higher. Regulated medical waste (RMW) makes up about five to 15 percent of a hospital’s total waste stream.

There are plenty of waste items under Alabama’s medical waste umbrella that are obviously infectious waste:

Here at TriHaz Solutions we’ve been closely monitoring the effect COVID-19 is having on our customers and the waste industry in general. We’re following guidance from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and continually updating our recommendations as more is learned about the virus. Alabama’s public health website is also a great source for state-specific information on how the COVID-19 pandemic is being handled, as is OSHA’s page devoted to the virus.

To say that COVID-19 (the latest official name for the coronavirus) is wreaking havoc all over the world is a huge understatement. The virus, which originated in China, is spreading to countries all over the globe including the United States. Medical professionals are both trying to address those already infected as well as put containment measures in place to avoid further infection.

1. What are Lab Packs?

Laboratory packs aka lab packs are small containers of hazardous waste material packed in drums. They're used by hospitals, laboratories, college campuses, factories, veterinarians, embalmers — anywhere small quantities of hazardous chemicals need to be carefully stored before professionally transported and disposed of by a medical waste disposal service.

Cytotoxic, or chemotherapy waste, is a top concern for healthcare facilities who are always on the lookout for the safest, most cost-effective disposal methods. The smallest of errors when packaging, labeling, and disposing of chemo waste can have serious consequences, including steep fines and penalties for non-compliance.

All medical waste generators are required by federal and state law to follow specific guidelines to properly segregate, transport, and dispose of pathology, or laboratory medical waste. Pathology waste is often generated by facilities like veterinary offices, surgical centers, hospitals, and cosmetic surgery centers where tissue or blood specimens are obtained for diagnostics and/or treatment.

Because of the extremely serious personal, legal, and financial risks associated with them, reducing the incidences of needlesticks, cuts, and punctures from loose sharps is a top priority in medical waste disposal.

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.

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.