If your facility generates part of the 6600 metric tons of waste created by healthcare facilities in the United States each day, you might be wondering, “Where does biohazard waste go after pickup?” Due to the potentially infectious and dangerous nature of biohazard waste, it cannot be treated like general refuse and placed in a landfill. Instead, each type of waste must be carefully transported, treated, and disposed of according to medical waste disposal best practices. Let’s take a look at where biohazard waste goes after pickup.
Who is responsible for proper biohazard medical waste disposal?
According to the multiple regulatory agencies that oversee medical waste disposal practices, everyone involved in the disposal process is responsible for ensuring proper techniques for treatment and disposal. This means that whether you’re a waste manager, hospital waste technician, medical waste transporter, or work in a treatment facility, regulatory agencies can hold you liable for improper biohazard waste disposal.
What is biohazard waste?
Biohazard waste is another term used to describe potentially infectious medical waste. This includes materials such as:
- Pathological waste, such as human tissue and fluids
- Human blood and blood products
- Cultures and infectious agents, such as laboratory specimens and discarded vaccinations
- Contaminated sharps such as needles, syringes, glass, and scalpel blades
- Isolation waste such as gowns, gloves, masks, and face shields
- Contaminated animal carcasses, body parts, or bedding when used for research or testing
For more information on what materials fall under hazardous vs biohazardous waste, check out this resource.
What does the biohazard waste pickup process look like?
If you partner with a reputable and compliant medical waste disposal company, your pickup process should include confirmation that the materials are segregated and appropriately labeled and contained in spillproof, puncture-resistant containers. Then, if you’re located within a state such as California that requires “cradle-to-grave” tracking of hazardous waste, you will receive a copy of your waste transportation manifest. Your medical waste disposal company will provide the copy in physical or electronic form, outlining the type and quantity of waste being transported and the signatures of all parties involved.
Once your medical waste disposal transport provider takes possession of the refuse, they will transport it to an appropriate treatment facility where it will be processed and disposed of according to applicable laws.
How are sharps waste processed after pickup?
Sharps waste includes anything that could penetrate the skin and is potentially infectious or contaminated. This includes:
- Needles
- Scalpels
- Broken glass
- Dental wires
- Lancets
- Capillary tubes
- Syringes (with or without needles)
- Suture needles
Users must dispose of these materials in a puncture-resistant container to prevent injury to anyone who might come into contact with them. The sharps are then picked up by the medical waste hauler and transported to a facility where they process the materials via autoclaving. This technique utilizes steam, pressure, and heat to sterilize the contents. They then shred the sterilized materials before placing them in a landfill or, depending on your waste processing facility, utilizing them as an alternative fuel source.
How is pathological waste processed after pickup?
Pathological waste, sometimes called anatomical waste, includes materials derived from a human or animal body. This includes:
- Surgical specimens
- Organs
- Body parts
- Animal carcasses
- Human or animal tissues
- Blood
- Body fluids
- Materials soaked in blood or body fluids
Always dispose of these materials in RED BAGS that are resistant to tears and bear biohazard waste labeling. Your medical waste disposal company can then pick up and transport the bags to a treatment facility where technicians incinerate the materials at a temperature as high as 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. This method ensures the total destruction of the materials as well as any infectious pathogens within. While internment, or burial of the waste, is sometimes permitted, many states, such as California, require incineration.
How is pharmaceutical waste processed after pickup?
Pharmaceutical waste includes both prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as chemicals and wastewater produced during the manufacturing process. Due to the potentially harmful nature of these materials, you must handle them carefully and treat them similarly to infectious medical waste.
Once transported to the treatment facility, technicians will incinerate most pharmaceutical waste in much the same way they do pathological waste. However, in some states, certain pharmaceutical products can be processed through alternate means, such as shredding, grinding, or chemically deactivating the materials before placing them in a landfill.
How is trace chemotherapy waste processed after pickup?
Chemotherapy materials are hazardous when not handled properly. In fact, nurses administering these drugs often wear two pairs of gloves when handling IV bags to prevent exposure. For this reason, trace chemotherapy waste must be handled with great care and always placed in a yellow, puncture-resistant container labeled with “Trace Chemotherapy Waste.” This includes all materials that have come into contact with chemotherapy, including:
- Empty vials and bags
- Gloves, gowns, and masks worn or used during treatment
- IV tubing
- Syringes
- Needles
- Materials soaked in chemotherapy drugs
Trace chemotherapy waste is always destroyed through incineration to ensure complete destruction of the dangerous chemicals.
Ensure Proper Destruction of Your Waste
Do your part in assuring the protection of the environment and the general public by partnering with a reputable medical waste disposal company that understands how different types of biohazard waste are to be handled and destroyed, and will carry out the process in detail. Before making your choice, remember to ask the potential medical waste disposal provider these top questions to gauge their understanding of and dedication to proper biohazard waste disposal.
We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!
Established in 2008, MedWaste Management fills a need for compliant and safe medical waste disposal in the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to share valuable and practical information to help you stay safe, informed, and healthy!
Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to help!
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Tammy McKinney, RN, is a healthcare writer and seasoned registered nurse. With experience in acute care, long-term care, rehabilitation, drug & alcohol, and hospice & palliative care, she combines her medical understanding with her love for writing to educate and inform the public on various health-related topics. You can contact her directly on LinkedIn!
