Infectious and Non-Infectious Waste

Segregate infectious wastes from non-infectious wastes.

INFECTIOUS WASTES: Manage infectious wastes in accordance with local health department requirements. Contact a reliable vendor that picks up and disposes infectious or biohazardous wastes. Follow the vendor’s protocols on management and packaging. Follow established safety procedures when working with infectious wastes.

NON-INFECTIOUS WASTES: Non-infectious solid waste can be disposed of in the garbage.

MIXED INFECTIOUS/HAZARDOUS WASTES: Some infectious wastes are also hazardous wastes. For example, a syringe that contained flu vaccine with thimerosol (the RCRA-regulated component) as a preservative and was partially injected into a patient is considered both infectious and hazardous. Another example of mixed infectious and hazardous waste is a partially administered IV bag that still contains a P-listed or U-listed chemotherapy drug.

Wherever possible, segregate these wastes. In the flu vaccine example, remove the sharp from the syringe and place it in the sharps container. Then place the barrel of the syringe with the remaining vaccine in the hazardous-waste container. In the IV example, separate the infectious component (the sharp and T-interlock) from the non-infectious component (the tubing and reservoir). Place the sharp and T-interlock in the sharps container and the non-infectious, hazardous-waste tubing and reservoir into the hazardous-waste container. At all times, keep safety foremost in your mind and use adequate personal-protective equipment.

If you have mixed infectious / hazardous waste that meets the definitions of Washington state’s conditional exclusion, contact your vendor or solid-waste incinerator to find out if this waste is accepted and how to prepare it for the facility. If an in-state incineration facility meeting the state’s specifications is unable to accept conditionally excluded wastes because it is infectious, it may be necessary to find a RCRA-permitted incinerator that is capable of managing infectious wastes.

The issue of the proper, safe and legal way to manage infectious hazardous wastes is still problematic and under review. At this point, we recommend the following:

Do a physical segregation of infectious and non-infectious hazardous wastes.
Manage the non-infectious hazardous wastes as specified within this document.
Consider whether on-site disinfection of infectious hazardous wastes is an option.
Some methods of disinfection include:
- Microwave
- Chemical (e.g., bleach or gluteraldehyde)
- Autoclave
- Ultraviolet-light exposure
- Sterilization
If waste can be safely rendered non-infectious, do so and manage as hazardous waste, as specified elsewhere on this Web site.
If waste cannot be safely rendered non-infectious, contact the Washington State Department of Ecology. The management of each waste will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Resources:

Contact your county health department for a definition of infectious/biomedical/biohazardous waste