Medical Waste Disposal San Antonio, TX
As stated in Title 30 Texas Administrative Code (30 TAC), medical waste includes both treated and untreated special waste from health care-related facilities. It is comprised of human body fluids, animal wastes, pathological wastes, sharps, as well as other regulated medical and microbiological wastes.
The term medical waste does not include medical waste produced on ranches and farms. Also, the term does not apply to artificial wastes or materials removed from patients such as breast implants and other related medical (for example orthopedic) devices.
Healthcare facilities do not include hotels, and other multi-family dwellings and establishments which provide accommodation facilities for the public.
Where Does Medical Waste Come From?
According to a 2012 Texas Department of State Health Services report, the state had 630 hospitals with 83,000 licensed beds. Most of the medical waste comes from hospitals, but other sources such as dental facilities, private doctor’s offices, veterinarian offices, clinical and research laboratories and pharmaceutical companies also produce high amounts of medical waste.
Texas has clearly defined laws that track medical waste and biohazard waste disposal. At the state level, medical waste disposal is regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
What are the categories of Medical Waste?
Medical waste can be identified by the following four categories:
- Infectious Waste
- Hazardous Waste
- Radioactive Waste
- General Waste
Infectious Waste can possibly cause infections to humans. It includes human blood, tissue, animal blood and tissue, surgical gloves, blood soaked bandages, discarded cotton swabs, and pathological lab cultures. Infectious waste often is also labeled as pathological waste. TCEQ requires that infectious and pathological medical waste disposal is carried out at an authorized treatment facility.
Hazardous waste includes ‘sharps’ i.e. materials or objects that can puncture or lacerate the skin and increase the risk of infections. This type of waste generally includes needles, syringes, discarded lancets, scalpels, glassware, and culture dishes. Hazardous waste can be considered highly infectious if it is exposed to human or animal tissue. Radioactive wastes resulting from oncology treatments, cancer therapies and medical devices that use radioactive isotopes need to be disposed with care.
Radioactive waste includes products contaminated by radioactive isotopes such as radioactive diagnostic materials and radioactive medication. Protective clothing, tools, tubes, filters and other items used in diagnostic testing come under this category.
General waste or non-hazardous / medical waste is waste that does not pose any physical, biological, chemical or radioactive threat. Medical waste disposal companies generally do not dispose of ‘solid waste’ because of the requirements surrounding medical waste transportation i.e. medical waste and general waste use different trucks.
Disposal of Pharmaceutical Waste
Pharmaceutical companies also produce medical waste which is mainly composed of pharmaceuticals that are expired. Smaller healthcare facilities such as doctor’s clinics, veterinary clinics and dental facilities also generate pharmaceutical waste which cannot be simply tossed into the garbage or flushed down the drain. Most facilities are not quite sure about how they can safely dispose expired pharmaceutical samples and other drug waste.
Why MedPro Disposal?
MedPro Disposal provides cost-effective state of the art medical waste disposal services in San Antonio, Texas. It offers services for healthcare facilities to effectively manage hazardous and non-hazardous medical waste disposal in compliance with state and federal regulations including EPA, TCEQ and OSHA rules.
In addition to hospital waste disposal, MedPro Disposal also offers services related to medical waste management and destruction of Pharmaceutical waste.
MedPro Disposal’s leading medical waste disposal services are an environmentally safe and more importantly, an industry complaint way for disposing of expired drug samples. Our services are designed in accordance with state and federal regulation which ensures that the medical waste or expired drugs do not end up in the environment.
Online document retrieval offered by MedPro Disposal can help you maintain a record about how much medical waste was captured in a regulated container and transferred from your facility for disposal. The online system can also help you know how and when the waste from your facility was disposed in a compliant manner.
Make the Most of Reliable and Totally Compliant Services
- MedPro Disposal is more than picking up waste at affordable prices. The company offers regulated medical waste disposal – compliant with the State of Texas and Federal laws governing the disposal of medical waste.
- The company is your one step solution for pickup and final treatment of pharmaceutical and medical wastes. We take care of your medical waste disposal and expired/recalled drug destruction so you’ll never have to worry about it again.
- Customized waste disposal and management plans for hospitals, doctor clinics, emergency care centers, surgical units, veterinary facilities and other stakeholders that produce medical wastes such as schools, colleges and animal shelters.
- State of the art tracking service, and dedicated scheduling ensures that your facility gets the attention and service it deserves.
It is possible to find a biohazard waste disposal at affordable prices in San Antonio, Texas. Call 888-641-6131 to request a quote. … If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
