/ IN THIS BLOG
01 / South Carolina Waste Management Laws
South Carolina has detailed laws covering infectious waste management, including:
What constitutes infectious waste
How such waste is to be stored
How this waste needs to be treated, and more
Some of these laws require more steps than some other states have for dealing with this waste. So if you’re part of a doctor’s office in South Carolina, you’ll want to make sure you review what the state considers to be infectious waste and some of the laws regulating this waste.
02 / Types of Infectious Waste
In South Carolina, many types of medical waste are considered to be infectious waste, including:
Sharps
Cultures and microbial specimens
Blood and blood products which are saturated and would drip when squeezed
Pathological waste which is not preserved by a preserving agent
Contaminated animal waste such as carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals intentionally exposed to pathogens
Isolation waste
Other waste which has come in contact with infectious waste listed above
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) had previously been in charge of such regulations. However, as of July 1, 2024, this agency was broken into the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Environmental Services. Today, you can find information on infectious waste under the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services and its Bureau of Land and Waste Management.
03 / Registration and Labeling of Biohazard Waste in South Carolina
All generators of biohazard waste must register with the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) within ninety days of the department’s announcement of regulations. Applications for a permit can be accessed through SCDES’s ePermitting portal. Additionally, generators of this waste are required to place correct and legible generator information on the labels of their infectious waste containers before transferring or transporting them. These two requirements apply even to generators of less than fifty pounds of infectious waste per month.
Storage
South Carolina has several regulations covering how infectious waste must be stored, the foremost of which is Title 44 Chapter 93 of South Carolina’s Code of Law, better known as the Infectious Waste Management Act. Under this law, the waste must be stored in a way that protects it from animals and weather conditions and minimizes any exposure to the public. Facilities are also required to segregate the infectious waste from other waste when it is first generated and then keep it in separate containers until it is treated.
These containers must be approved disposable or reusable containers that are appropriate for the waste being stored and will hold up while the waste is handled, stored, and transported. The containers must be tightly closed, secured, and compatible with the type of storage and treatment selected. For sharps, the containers must be rigid, puncture-resistant, and tightly secured to prevent the contents from spilling.
According to South Carolina’ Code of Law Title 44 Section 44-93-60, the containers also need to be properly labeled and “clearly identifiable as infectious waste, and readily distinguishable from other waste.” Facilities are also required to store the infectious waste under the conditions and for the time periods specified in the regulations.
Treatment
According to South Carolina Medical Waste Laws, infectious waste must be treated at a facility that meets the requirements in Section 44-93-120 of state law. The waste must also be treated in compliance with state and federal laws through one of the following methods.
Once the biohazard waste is treated, it can be disposed of as regular waste as long as it is not subject to another federal or state regulation. There are some wastes that, pursuant to regulation, may be disposed of before they are treated, including approved liquids or semi-liquid wastes, which may be disposed of directly into an approved waste disposal system that has been approved by the department and recognizable human anatomical remains, which may be interred.
04 / Extra Steps Required by South Carolina Medical Waste Laws
South Carolina requires that you weigh each container of waste to be shipped instead of the weight of the entire shipment, as most states require.
South Carolina requires a more detailed bill of lading than many states. It must include where the waste was treated in a medical waste autoclave or medical waste incinerator, as well as who operated the autoclave or incinerator.
Tips for Compliance
It is vital to comply with the South Carolina Infectious Waste Management Act, and failure to do so could result in a “civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars a day of violation.” Additionally, willfully violating this law could result in a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars a day, not more than a year of imprisonment, or both. For the second or subsequent offenses, the fine is not more than twenty-five thousand dollars or two years in prison. It is important to remember that each day of non-compliance, in which an order is issued for not complying with the law, counts as another offense. Here are some tips for compliance.
Keep the documentation indicating what kind of waste your office has generated, where the waste was transported to, and how the waste was disposed of.
Work with a reliable waste management company. This can be useful if you are audited and don’t have all of your paperwork because they should have copies of your paperwork on file.
Choose a waste management disposal company that is knowledgeable about the requirements in each state they operate in and has all of the necessary qualifications. This is essential because if they fail to comply with the regulations when disposing of your company’s waste, you will be responsible. Your office is the generator of the waste, and the state will impose any fines or penalties on you.
Retain the paperwork associated with the disposal of any medical waste for a minimum of three years. For any hazardous waste your office disposes of, you should keep the documentation and paperwork for five years. It is best to keep both hard copies and electronic copies online or in cloud storage to be sure you will have them if needed. This is important even if you are working with a reputable waste management company, as it is proof of your compliance with the law.
As you can see, there is a significant amount of information to digest and requirements to meet. It’s best to trust your business’s health and welfare to an experienced team who knows how to navigate such complexities. If you would like more information about South Carolina waste management laws or the waste management laws of other states, please feel free to contact a representative of MCF Environmental Services, a waste management company in Atlanta.
Robert Losurdo
President, COO
