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Georgia Medical Waste Regulations for Doctors’ Offices and Hospitals
Whether you run a small rural clinic or a 500-bed hospital in Georgia, you need to abide by a number of overarching medical waste regulations. Outside state-specific regulations are those of the federal government. Your doctor’s office or hospital must follow the rules of both to maintain compliance. While requirements for medical waste management in a small doctor’s office are not the same as the scope as that of a large hospital, you should be aware of (and working with people who are aware of) potential similarities and differences.
What is Industrial Solid Waste?
An “industrial solid waste stream” can include a wide variety of substances, both hazardous and non-hazardous. So, it’s important to analyze the different types of raw materials that input your manufacturing processes, as well as what kinds of wastes they create.
6 Questions Colleges Should Ask Hazardous Waste Management Companies
While most colleges don’t typically consider themselves to be large generators of hazardous material, they do often generate it. Whether your college is dealing with chemicals associated with the aquatic center or fertilizer from the ground’s keepers, colleges produce hazardous waste that needs to be specially dealt with.
What Is Regulated Medical Waste?
The differences between regulated medical waste and potentially hazardous medical wastes are not always easy to define. That’s why it is imperative that not only health professionals, but also housekeeping and janitorial staff, are aware of the difference between wastes that belong in the regulated or ‘non-regulated’ categories when it comes to disposal.
Employees Must Be Trained to Handle Shipping Manifest & Bill of Lading
If you need a waste management company to assist with the disposal of your generated waste, it’s imperative that any employees handling that waste or preparing it for shipment are trained and qualified to handle associated paperwork. In particular, that means they must be trained and legally qualified to fill out either a hazardous waste manifest or a bill of lading depending on the contents of the particular waste shipment.
Medical Waste Autoclave: What Types of Waste Are Disposed This Way?
Those in the medical industry have more than likely heard of a medical waste autoclave. However, if you’re not directly involved in its use, you may not realize exactly what type/s of medical waste can be disposed of in an autoclave and what can’t. In fact, knowing about this process of medical waste disposal is essential in order to maintain compliance with local, state, and federal laws regarding medical waste management.
How to Tell if Your Solid Waste is Hazardous
Do your staff and employees know how to identify hazardous solid waste? Do they know the difference between hazardous waste characteristics? Are they aware that hazardous solid waste that is corrosive, flammable, or potentially toxic poses a serious threat to the health and safety of humans, animals, and the environment?
Not all waste is created equal, so how can you tell when your waste falls under regulations of federal and state laws for handling, shipping, and disposal processes?
What is hand sanitizer waste characterization?
It comes as a surprise to many that hand sanitizer is considered a hazardous waste by the EPA, and it thereby requires hazardous waste management and disposal.
How to Choose the Proper Hazardous Waste Container
Hazardous waste removal processes involve numerous steps. One of the most crucial is how to select a proper and compliant hazardous waste container. This is not a one-size-fits-all process, as the right container for the job depends on factors that include the type of waste, its weight or volume, and its components.
Hazardous Waste Violations: Beware! EPA Fines Have Increased
If you generate hazardous waste in your industry, you already know you can be subject to fines for non-compliant hazardous waste disposal. The law is clear on that. If you’re not aware of the heavy costs of fines and penalties for improper hazardous waste disposal, regardless of industry, you should be.
4 Best Practices for Medical Waste Disposal and Transportation
Dealing with medical waste and transportation requires awareness, implementation of best practices, and compliance with federal, state, and local laws. With so many different types of potential medical waste streams (such as sharps, biological, infectious, pathological, pharmaceutical, etc.) and with different rules and regulations stipulating how each of those types of waste needs to be handled, it can quickly become confusing.
Can Doctor’s Offices and Hospitals Put Expired Medications in Red Bag Waste?
If your doctor’s office or hospital is a fully functioning clinic, it’s very likely you periodically need to dispose of expired medications and biohazardous waste. When it comes to disposal of expired medications, staff need to follow specific regulations and restrictions regarding such waste and what kinds of medications get disposed of and in what fashion.
Best Practices For Waste Disposal in Retail Settings
Hazardous waste management isn’t only a problem for industry and manufacturing. Whole Foods, Walmart, and Macy’s are prototypical business-to-consumer enterprises. Hazardous waste disposal was likely a non-issue for their managers…until suddenly it was.
Consequences of Poorly Managed Medical Waste Disposal
While a majority of medical waste can be classified as non-hazardous, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 15% falls into the hazardous waste category, each of which triggers a particular set of protocols for its management and disposal. In order to minimize the health risks associated with exposure to these potentially infectious materials, physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers must take every precaution when managing and disposing of all medical waste.
