Nebraska defines Infectious Waste as:
solid waste capable of causing an infectious disease. For  waste to be deemed infectious, consideration will be given to these elements required in order for infection to occur: Tpresence of a pathogen or causative organism, of significant virulence, in an adequate dose, which is able to gain a portal of entry in a susceptible host.

Infectious waste includes, but is not limited to substances from the following classifications:

• Blood, Blood Products and Body Fluids and any items contaminated with any of these fluids, if a pourable quantity (ability of a liquid or semi-solid form to drip or flow) is present.
  • Blood and blood products includes serum, plasma, and other blood components.
  • Body fluid includes semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, amniotic fluid and any other body fluid visibly contaminated with blood. 


• Infectious Sharps Waste discarded items from diagnosis, treatment, or immunization which can potentially transmit disease by breaking the human skin.
  • This includes: hypodermic needles, scalpels, razor blades, breakable glass containers, blood vials, culture dishes, used slides, glass products and broken glass or other sharp items that have come into contact with or have been contaminated by material considered infectious. 


• Laboratory Waste, including all cultures and stocks of infectious agents (specimen cultures from medical and pathological laboratories, cultures and stocks from research and industrial laboratories), wastes from the production of biologicals, discarded live and attenuated vaccines, and culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix cultures.

• Contaminated Animal Waste, including blood and body fluids, carcasses, body parts, excrement and bedding from animals contaminated with agents that may cause human disease.