Healthcare facilities generate significant volumes of waste – the U.S. healthcare system produces more than five million pounds of waste each year, including needles from routine vaccinations, tissue removed during surgeries, trace chemicals from IV lines, and supplies contaminated during patient care.
Despite the large volume, less than 8% of hospital waste is classified as regulated medical waste (RMW), as reported by Practice Greenhealth. RMW refers to waste known or reasonably expected to contain a pathogen, including a waste or reusable material derived from the medical treatment of an animal or human, which includes diagnosis and immunization, or from biomedical research, which includes the production and testing of biological products. These wastes, such as items saturated with blood, contaminated sharps, non-hazardous pharmaceuticals, trace chemotherapeutic, and pathological wastes require specialized treatment via autoclave or incineration.
While healthcare administrators often concentrate on internal waste handling—like proper disposal procedures and scheduled pickups—it is equally critical to understand the treatment process that occurs after RMW leaves the facility. As good environmental stewards, healthcare organizations should understand how RMW is treated outside their facility and verify that their partners meet applicable requirements to reduce risk and protect their reputation.
What happens after medical waste is collected?
After pickup, RMW must be treated before final disposal, so it can be safely sent to a landfill or waste-to-energy facility.
There are two primary methods for treating RMW:
- Autoclaving: As the most widely used treatment method, autoclaving involves exposing medical waste and sharps to high-pressure steam at controlled temperatures for a specific duration. This process effectively destroys pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, making the waste non-infectious prior to disposal.
- Incineration: Medical waste designated for incineration is subjected to extremely high temperatures, which reduce it to ash. The resulting ash is then sent to a landfill. According to waste acceptance policies, certain waste types—like pathological waste, non-hazardous pharmaceuticals, and trace chemotherapeutic waste—must be properly segregated and incinerated to ensure they are destroyed in a compliant manner.
Why proper segregation and having a plan matter
Not all waste generated in healthcare settings should enter the regulated medical waste stream. Hazardous wastes regulated under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Recourse Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA), such as organic solvents and laboratory chemicals, and radioactive wastes must never be mixed with regulated medical waste – they require specialized handling, treatment, and disposal pathways.
To effectively manage the diverse types of waste produced, healthcare facilities should establish a comprehensive waste management plan. This plan should clearly outline how different waste categories will be segregated and processed. The benefits of proper waste segregation include:
- Personnel Safety: Medical waste segregation into appropriate containers is crucial for helping to promote safe work environments for frontline healthcare workers, as it helps reduce the risk of injury or exposure to bloodborne pathogens.
- Regulatory Compliance: Applicable state or local laws often require medical waste segregation – both segregating medical waste from other non-infectious waste and segregating certain types of medical waste (like pathological waste or sharps waste) from each other. Establishing and training staff on a medical waste segregation program can help healthcare organizations avoid enforcement or other legal action. Waste segregation can be challenging, but partnering with a knowledgeable waste management provider can help you establish an appropriate process.
- Comply with Disposal Vendor’s Waste Acceptance Policies: Waste Acceptance Policies (WAPs) are a waste vendor’s requirements outlining what it will and will not accept, and under what conditions. Healthcare facilities need to ensure that WAPs from all of their waste vendors are shared with those within the organization that are responsible for waste management.
- Required per 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), § 60.55c Waste management plan: Any healthcare facility that uses (onsite or via a vendor) a hospital, medical, and infectious waste incinerator (HMIWI) must have a waste management plan in place.
Choosing a knowledgeable, compliant partner
A knowledgeable waste management partner is key to ensuring that medical waste is properly treated and disposed of after it leaves the facility. A strong partner must be well-versed in the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) hazardous materials requirements for packaging, marking and labeling, shipping papers, and hazmat employee training to ensure compliant transport from your site to the treatment facility.
Additionally, your waste management provider should be well-versed in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations as well as state-specific waste laws, offering valuable guidance to help your facility remain compliant with all applicable requirements.
At Stericycle, we offer comprehensive waste management services, including autoclaving and incineration. We can help you understand your state’s regulations and set up programs that help ensure compliance. Learn more about Stericycle’s comprehensive medical waste solutions and how they can effectively help your healthcare facility with its medical waste treatment.
This article is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances.
