Medical Waste Disposal in Missouri
MedPro Disposal provides regulated medical waste, sharps and pharmaceutical waste pickup and disposal for healthcare facilities everywhere in Missouri — from Kansas City and St. Louis to Springfield, Columbia and the rural counties in between.
How is medical waste disposal regulated in Missouri?
Missouri regulates medical waste as “infectious waste” under the Missouri Solid Waste Management Law (RSMo 260.200 and 260.203) and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources rule 10 CSR 80-7.010, Infectious Waste Management. Generators of 100 kg (about 220 lb) or less a month are small quantity generators with fewer requirements; larger generators must treat their waste onsite or hand it to a transporter holding a Hazardous Waste Transporter License issued through MoDOT. Waste must be packaged in sealed, leak-resistant containers marked with the biohazard symbol and “Infectious Waste” or “Biohazard Waste”, travel on a signed tracking document, and all tracking documents must be kept for at least three years.
- State term
- Infectious waste
- Rules
- 10 CSR 80-7.010
- Enforced by
- Missouri DNR
- Small generator
- 100 kg/month or less
Key takeaways
- Missouri regulates medical waste as “infectious waste” under RSMo 260.200–260.203 and 10 CSR 80-7.010, administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Waste Management Program.
- In Missouri, a small quantity generator of infectious waste generates 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) or less a month; a large quantity generator generates more.
- Untreated infectious waste in Missouri may only be hauled by a transporter holding a Hazardous Waste Transporter License, applied for through MoDOT and approved by MoDOT and the Missouri DNR.
- Missouri infectious waste sent to a permitted processing facility must travel with a tracking document signed by the generator and the transporter, and the facility must return a completed copy to the generator within 35 days.
- Missouri requires tracking documents and related infectious waste records to be kept for at least three years (10 CSR 80-7.010(6)).
Missouri Medical Waste Rules
Medical waste is regulated mainly by each state, with a few federal rules on top. In Missouri it’s governed by the Solid Waste Management Law (RSMo 260.200–260.345, with infectious waste in 260.203) and the Department of Natural Resources’ rule 10 CSR 80-7.010, Infectious Waste Management, with the Department of Health and Senior Services defining the wastes small generators must manage. Here’s what they require of a practice, clinic or other healthcare facility.
What Missouri regulates
Infectious Waste
Waste capable of producing an infectious disease because it contains pathogens of sufficient virulence and quantity so that exposure to the waste by a susceptible human host could result in an infectious disease. Waste treated to the department’s specifications is not infectious waste. A generator is any single office (doctor’s office, dentist’s office and the like) or facility (hospital, nursing home, mortuary and the like) whose act or process first causes an infectious waste. Small quantity generators (100 kg a month or less) must manage sharps, cultures and stocks, and wastes the responsible physician, podiatrist, dentist or veterinarian designates as capable of producing infectious disease. Waste generated and disposed of at a single-family residence is exempt, provided sharps are packaged as required.
- Isolation wastes (from patients with communicable diseases transmissible via those wastes)
- Contaminated surgical, dialysis and laboratory wastes
- Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated biologicals, including culture dishes and transfer devices
- Blood and blood products (lightly soiled bandages and gowns excluded unless the generator decides otherwise)
- Pathology wastes (tissues, organs, body parts and body fluids removed in surgery and autopsy), plus contaminated animal carcasses, body parts and bedding
- Sharps (needles, syringes, scalpel blades, and broken glass or other sharp items that contacted infectious material)
Who regulates medical waste in Missouri
Missouri Department of Natural Resources — Waste Management Program
Administers Missouri’s infectious waste rule: generator, packaging, tracking and transport requirements, permits for infectious waste processing (treatment and transfer) facilities, and approval of infectious waste transporter licenses with MoDOT.
1730 E. Elm St., Jefferson City, MO 65101 (mail: P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176)
Official websiteMissouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) — Motor Carrier Services
Issues the Hazardous Waste Transporter License every carrier needs to haul infectious waste in Missouri, through MoDOT Carrier Express. The license is valid for one year.
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
Defines which wastes small quantity generators must manage as infectious waste (19 CSR 20-20.010) and sets the infectious waste rules for hospitals.
Federal OSHA — Kansas City and St. Louis Area Offices
Missouri has no OSHA State Plan, so federal OSHA enforces the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard for private employers in the state.
2300 Main Street, Suite 10071, Kansas City, MO 64108; 1222 Spruce Street, Room 9.104, St. Louis, MO 63103
(816) 483-9531 · (314) 425-4249
Official website
Key Missouri requirements
| Topic | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Generator categories | A generator producing 100 kg (about 220 lb) or less of infectious waste a month is a small quantity generator and must manage sharps, cultures and stocks, and wastes its medical authority designates as infectious. A small generator hauling its own waste for processing is exempt from the transporter and fee requirements but must use a closed, secured vehicle. A large quantity generator (more than 100 kg a month) must treat onsite or use a licensed infectious waste transporter. | 10 CSR 80-7.010(1)(A)2., (1)(C)3.; 19 CSR 20-20.010(21), (36); RSMo 260.203.10 |
| Packaging and labeling | Before transport, all infectious waste must be placed in rigid or semi-rigid, leak-resistant containers (closable with a tight-fitting lid, leakproof on the bottom and sides), sealed, kept clean on the outside, and marked with the universal biohazard symbol and “Infectious Waste” or “Biohazard Waste”. Containers meeting 29 CFR 1910.1030 are acceptable. Plastic bags must be tear- and leak-resistant and go inside a rigid or semi-rigid container; glass can’t be a primary container. Reusable containers must be cleaned and sanitized before reuse. | 10 CSR 80-7.010(2) |
| Sharps | Sharps must be packaged in rigid, leak-resistant and puncture-resistant containers and sealed before disposal or transport. | 10 CSR 80-7.010(1)(B), (2)(B) |
| Onsite storage | Missouri’s infectious waste rule sets no onsite storage time limit for generators. The 24-hour and 72-hour (refrigerated) storage limits in the rule apply only to permitted infectious waste processing facilities. Generators must keep waste in sealed, properly marked containers that fully contain it. | 10 CSR 80-7.010(2), (5)(C) |
| Transport | Except for exempt small generators and hospitals hauling their own waste, infectious waste may only be transported from the point of generation by transporters licensed under 10 CSR 25-6.263 — a Hazardous Waste Transporter License applied for through MoDOT and approved by MoDOT and DNR. Vehicles must be closed and secured, and the waste must go to a hospital, a DNR-permitted infectious waste processing facility or an out-of-state facility. | 10 CSR 80-7.010(4); RSMo 260.203.1, .3 |
| Tracking documents | A generator shipping to a permitted processing facility must prepare a tracking document (generator, designated facility, transporter’s Missouri ID number, quantity), sign it by hand, get the transporter’s signature and date, keep one copy and give the rest to the transporter. The processing facility must send the completed document to the generator within 35 days after the transporter accepted the waste. | 10 CSR 80-7.010(3) |
| Treatment and disposal | Untreated infectious waste can’t go to a solid waste disposal area. Permitted facilities treat it by incineration (at least 1,800°F in the secondary chamber) or steam sterilization, with other methods approved case by case. Waste rendered innocuous can go to a sanitary landfill once the treater certifies it in writing. | 10 CSR 80-7.010(1)(B), (5)(A); RSMo 260.203.2, .6 |
| Recordkeeping | All tracking documents, operating logs, fee reports, test results and process monitoring records must be kept for at least three years, longer on DNR’s written request or during any unresolved enforcement action, and made available to DNR on request. | 10 CSR 80-7.010(6) |
- RSMo 260.200
Solid Waste Management Law — Definitions
Defines “infectious waste” (subdivision 25), including isolation wastes, cultures and stocks, blood and blood products, pathological wastes, surgery and autopsy wastes, contaminated lab wastes, sharps and dialysis unit wastes.
- RSMo 260.203
Infectious waste
Requires infectious waste to go to a permitted infectious waste processing facility or hospital, bars untreated infectious waste from solid waste disposal areas, sets the small quantity generator exemption (100 kg a month or less) and the per-ton processing fee.
- 10 CSR 80-7.010
Infectious Waste Management
Definitions and generator categories, treatment and disposal, packaging, tracking documents, transport, processing facility permits and treatment standards, fees and three-year recordkeeping.
- 19 CSR 20-20.010
Definitions Relating to Communicable, Environmental and Occupational Diseases
DHSS’s definitions of infectious waste and of a small quantity generator, including the three categories small generators must manage as infectious.
Federal rules that also apply
| Topic | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens | Sharps containers must be closable, puncture-resistant, leakproof on the sides and bottom, labeled or color-coded, and kept upright and within easy reach. Other regulated-waste containers must be closable, leak-proof and labeled with the biohazard symbol (or red). Missouri has no OSHA State Plan: federal OSHA covers private employers in the state. | 29 CFR 1910.1030(d)(4)(iii), (g)(1) |
| DOT shipping | Regulated medical waste ships as Division 6.2, UN3291, in rigid packaging that meets UN Packing Group II standards, with puncture-resistant containers for sharps. | 49 CFR 173.134, 173.197 |
Reviewed September 2026. This is a plain-language summary to help you plan, not legal advice — rules change, so confirm details with the agencies above. MedPro handles transport, treatment and manifests for you and can help you understand what applies to your facility.
Missouri infectious waste compliance checklist
Use this to check your facility against Missouri’s infectious waste rule (10 CSR 80-7.010) and the federal OSHA standard. MedPro handles the pickup, transport and treatment — the rest happens in your facility.
Get Compliant Pickup- 1
You know your generator category
100 kg (about 220 lb) or less a month makes you a small quantity generator; more than that makes you a large quantity generator with full transport and tracking duties.
- 2
You know which wastes count as infectious
Small quantity generators must manage sharps, cultures and stocks, and any waste the responsible physician, dentist, podiatrist or veterinarian designates as capable of producing infectious disease (19 CSR 20-20.010).
- 3
Waste goes in sealed, leak-resistant containers
Rigid or semi-rigid, closable with a tight-fitting lid, leakproof on the bottom and sides, and clean on the outside. Plastic bags and glass can’t be the outer shipping container.
- 4
Every container is marked
The universal biohazard symbol, prominently displayed, plus “Infectious Waste” or “Biohazard Waste”.
- 5
Sharps are in puncture-resistant containers
Rigid, leak-resistant and puncture-resistant, and sealed before they leave your facility.
- 6
Your hauler holds a Missouri transporter license
Untreated infectious waste may only be picked up by a transporter licensed through MoDOT and the Missouri DNR.
- 7
Each shipment has a signed tracking document
You sign it by hand, get the transporter’s signature and date, keep one copy and expect the completed copy back from the facility within 35 days.
- 8
Records are kept for three years
Keep tracking documents and related records for at least three years — longer if DNR asks in writing or an enforcement action is open.
Missouri Medical Waste Savings
Projected annual savings from quotes we’ve prepared for Missouri practices. Every practice is different — we charge only for the services you need.
See What You Could Save| Practice Type | ZIP Code | Annual SavingsProjected Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Dental | 63011 | $1,050 |
| Family Care | 64014 | $704 |
| Internal Medicine | 63044 | $1,740 |
| Veterinary | 63630 | $1,180 |
| Plastic Surgery | 63141 | $93,720 |
It’s Easy to Get Started With MedPro Disposal
- 01
Contact Us
Contact MedPro Disposal for a fast, free medical waste removal quote. We’ll get to know you, discuss your needs, and settle on a number.
- 02
Waste Pickup Date
Work with MedPro Disposal to determine your first pickup date. We’ll confirm your office hours and provide convenient options for medical waste and sharps pickup.
- 03
Compliance Survey
After we get to know your requirements, we’ll send you a survey to identify any areas that need to be brought up to OSHA standards. All three steps occur at no additional cost to your practice.
We service all of Missouri
MedPro Disposal provides regulated medical waste pickup and disposal to healthcare facilities in every part of Missouri — wherever your practice is. Local service pages include:
Near the state line? We serve the neighboring states too.
Missouri Medical Waste FAQs
What counts as medical waste in Missouri?
Missouri calls it infectious waste: waste capable of producing an infectious disease, including isolation wastes, contaminated surgical, dialysis and lab wastes, cultures and stocks, blood and blood products, pathology wastes and sharps (RSMo 260.200(25); 10 CSR 80-7.010(1)(A)). Small quantity generators must manage sharps, cultures and stocks, and wastes their physician, dentist, podiatrist or veterinarian designates as infectious (19 CSR 20-20.010). Waste treated to DNR specifications is no longer infectious waste.
Who regulates medical waste disposal in Missouri?
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Waste Management Program administers the infectious waste rule, 10 CSR 80-7.010, and permits treatment facilities. MoDOT issues the transporter license (approved with DNR), and the Department of Health and Senior Services defines small generators’ infectious waste categories and hospital rules. Federal OSHA enforces the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard for private employers, and U.S. DOT rules govern shipping. There is no “Missouri EPA”.
Is my practice a small or large quantity generator in Missouri?
If you generate 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) or less of infectious waste a month, you’re a small quantity generator; more than that makes you a large quantity generator (10 CSR 80-7.010(1)(A)2.; 19 CSR 20-20.010(36)). Most physician, dental and veterinary offices are small generators. Large generators must treat their waste onsite or use a licensed infectious waste transporter.
How long can a medical practice store medical waste in Missouri?
Missouri’s infectious waste rule doesn’t set an onsite storage time limit for generators. The 24-hour and 72-hour (refrigerated) limits in 10 CSR 80-7.010(5)(C) apply only to permitted infectious waste processing facilities. Keep waste in sealed, leak-resistant containers marked with the biohazard symbol and “Infectious Waste” or “Biohazard Waste” until pickup — MedPro sets a pickup schedule that fits how much you generate.
What does Missouri require of medical waste haulers?
Untreated infectious waste may only be transported by a hauler holding a Hazardous Waste Transporter License, applied for through MoDOT Carrier Express and approved by MoDOT and the Missouri DNR; the license is valid for one year. The hauler must use a closed, secured vehicle, sign and date the tracking document at pickup, and deliver the whole shipment to the designated facility (10 CSR 80-7.010(3)(B), (4)).
How long do I need to keep medical waste records in Missouri?
At least three years. Keep your signed copy of every tracking document and the completed copy the processing facility sends back within 35 days (10 CSR 80-7.010(3), (6)). The retention period extends if DNR asks in writing or during any unresolved enforcement action.
Where in Missouri does MedPro Disposal provide service?
Everywhere in Missouri — we service facilities statewide. We also have local service pages for Columbia, Independence, Jefferson City, Kansas City, Lee’s Summit, O’Fallon, Springfield and St. Louis.
How much does medical waste disposal cost in Missouri?
It depends on how much waste you generate and how often it’s picked up — we charge only for the services you need. MedPro quotes in Missouri have projected annual savings of $1,740 for an internal medicine practice and $1,050 for a dental office. Request a free, no-obligation quote for your facility.
Our services in Missouri
Industries we serve
Sources
- 10 CSR 80-7.010 — Infectious Waste Management — Missouri Secretary of State, Code of State Regulations
- 19 CSR 20-20.010 — Definitions Relating to Communicable, Environmental and Occupational Diseases — Missouri Secretary of State, Code of State Regulations
- RSMo 260.200 — Definitions — Missouri Revisor of Statutes
- RSMo 260.203 — Infectious waste — Missouri Revisor of Statutes
- Infectious Waste Management — Missouri Department of Natural Resources
- Infectious Waste Management by Small-Quantity Generators (PUB0188) — Missouri Department of Natural Resources
- Hazardous Waste/Infectious Waste Transporter License — Missouri Department of Natural Resources
- Building Addresses and Maps — Missouri Department of Natural Resources
- Hazardous Waste Transporter License — Missouri Department of Transportation
- Contact Information — Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
- Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030 — U.S. OSHA
- State Plans (Missouri is under federal OSHA) — U.S. OSHA
- Missouri OSHA Area Offices — U.S. OSHA
- Infectious substances, 49 CFR 173.134 — eCFR
- Regulated medical waste, 49 CFR 173.197 — eCFR
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