At home, it’s perfectly fine to toss a used bandage in the trash. It’s technically medical waste, but in minimal quantities, the environmental risk is low. Small clinics may not generate much medical waste either, but they’re still required to follow strict protocols. With limited resources, it can be tough to keep up with all the rules and regulations. Here’s how you can follow best practices that keep your clinic compliant and your people safe.
Sort Medical Waste from Regular Trash
In a clinical setting, medical waste is anything that has been in contact with infectious materials or could pose a safety hazard. You’ll likely encounter these types of medical waste on a daily basis:
- Sharps. Think needles, syringes, scalpels, or other sharp objects.
- Biohazard. Also known as red bag waste, this is anything that is known to carry infectious materials, or could possibly be exposed to them. This includes anything from surgical waste to gloves worn during an exam.
- Pharmaceuticals. Unused, expired, or contaminated medications can’t be thrown in the trash or flushed away.
Not all garbage that’s generated in a clinical setting counts as medical waste. Old office supplies and break room trash don’t have to follow medical garbage disposal protocols — in fact, they should not be mixed with medical waste. Regular trash should be sorted into solid waste or recycling, then picked up by your local waste management team.
It sounds relatively straightforward, but it’s easy to accidentally mis-sort something, especially if you aren’t up to date on compliance.
Avoid Process Pitfalls and Corner Cutting
The mix of waste types will vary, but in general, the biggest difference between the medical waste generated at a small clinic versus a large hospital is simply volume. The size of your operation doesn’t reduce your legal or safety obligations.
It can be tough to keep up with all the requisite laws if staff training is limited or inconsistent. Check your training cadence.
Small clinics don’t have space for bulky waste containers or extra storage, either. That leads to improper storage and increases compliance or safety risks. Use the right containers and don’t let them overflow — get waste pickups on your schedule.
Many medical waste disposal companies have rigid service or pricing models, which makes it tempting to cut corners. Choose a waste management provider that flexes with your needs to save money and keep your clinic efficient.
Follow These Simple Medical Waste Disposal Best Practices
Managing medical waste doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, some of the best practices are simple, straightforward, and don’t require a huge amount of time or effort. Here’s what you can do to make sure you’re on the right track.
- Train staff on legal obligations. OSHA bloodborne pathogens, HIPAA, and sharps safety and handling training modules are mandatory in every setting that handles medical waste.
- Segregate waste correctly. Make sure every staff member knows exactly where to put waste as soon as it’s generated.
- Use the right containers. Sharps go in sharps containers, biohazard waste typically goes in its dedicated red bag, and non-medical solid waste goes in the trash can. Recyclables should be sorted as your local waste management team recommends.
- Schedule pickups based on actual volume. Some days will generate a lot of certain types of waste, other days won’t. Update your waste pickup schedule as your needs change.
- Collect and keep receipts of destruction. Audits happen, so always maintain good records. Small clinics typically don’t have a lot of storage space, so Keystone Med Waste stores documentation for you.
How to Handle Med Waste Even Better
Those are the basic guidelines to protect you legally and physically. The next step is to make environmentally smarter choices that still keep you compliant.
Autoclaving and incineration will destroy waste thoroughly, but there are more sustainable options available now — and those new options can be even cheaper than traditional methods. Keystone Med Waste’s novel steam treatment integrator (STI) process has fewer emissions and sends less waste to the landfill, but still meets or exceeds regulatory standards.
Managing medical waste in a small clinic doesn’t need to be unnecessarily complicated. You’ll just need to prepare for compliance and stay organized. Call Keystone for a custom medical waste disposal quote or ask our customer service team for advice on how to get started.