MCF Environmental Services have been serving medical clinics, laboratories, education institutions and local businesses for more than 30 years, offering specialist waste collection and disposal services for hazardous and non-hazardous waste streams.
All businesses in the state of Maine need to know how to properly dispose of potentially hazardous or infectious waste, regardless of whether it comes from a hospital, a dentist’s office, or an industrial manufacturing plant. The Department of Environmental Protection Waste Management Division is a primary source of information regarding such processes.
Any medical or business generating potentially hazardous or infectious waste ensure that waste management processes are understood and complied with. That means permits, certifications, licenses, and rules and regulations of not only the state of Maine, but the federal government.
Basic Rules of Maine
Partnering with a reputable and experienced waste management company is the best way to ensure that your paperwork is in order, accurate, and submitted in a timely manner. A knowledgeable company is helpful with their knowledge of biomedical and hazardous waste processes, from segregation to state-approved transportation and disposal processes.
Finding the rules is time-consuming and often challenging, but diligence is key. Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection provides accessible links to waste management rules in the state, starting with how to identify hazardous waste, standards for generators of such waste, and on to hazardous waste manifest requirements.
In Maine, the rules provide several steps to identify something as a hazardous waste. Something is hazardous waste if:
- It has not been excluded from Maine Revised Statue (M.R.S.) Chapter 850;
- It is listed as a hazardous waste in Chapter 850. (If not, then identification by characteristics apply – is the object/material toxic, ignitable, corrosive, or reactive).
Small quantity generators are required (and responsible) for properly packaging and shipping waste to an authorized and licensed facility, along with to appropriate manifests.
The rules define the responsibilities of hazardous medical or industrial or business waste generators, from segregation to classifying residues of hazardous waste in empty containers. Other sources for regulations can be found at the Bureau of Hazardous Materials & Solid Waste Control here and their Handbook for Hazardous Waste generators found here.
Stay compliant. Any business or facility that generates medical, hazardous, or infectious waste should work with a dependable waste management company to ensure that Maine’s rules and regulations are followed. MCF Environmental Services has experience offering guidance in finding and breaking down state and federal laws for compliant hazardous waste management processes.
