California Medical Waste Disposal & Management

The California Environmental Protection Agency’s mission is to restore, protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quality, and economic vitality. The state’s Medical Waste Management Act provides the definition of medical waste (California Health and Safety Code, $ 117690). The waste must satisfy three criteria in order to be classified as medical waste. These three criteria are:

1. The material must be a waste productThe waste must be either biohazardous or sharps waste. Various forms of waste are defined as biohazardous because of the actual or presumed presence of pathogenic microorganisms. Such wastes as laboratory waste and fluid blood fall into this category and are therefore biohazardous waste. Objects which have been used in invasive procedures, such as hypodermic needles, and broken glass items contaminated with blood or other biohazardous waste are considered to be sharps waste.
2. The Medical Waste Management Act (section 117690) defines types of waste as the “…diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals. Some actions such as medical research, production or testing of biologicals, accumulation of home-generated sharps waste and the removal of trauma scene waste are specifically included in the definition of medical waste.”

Medical Waste Storage Requirements in CA:

Next to “How do I dispose of medical waste in California?”, the next most common question we get at MedPro Disposal is “How do I store medical waste in California?”. Here’s the answer:

• Medical waste will be contained separately from other waste.
• Sharps waste must be contained in a sharps container.
• Indicate that red biohazard bags are to be placed for storage, handling, and transport.
• The California Department of Health Services has created a Self-Assessment Manual for medical waste generators who would like to improve either compliance or efficiency in management of healthcare-generated medical waste and California medical waste disposal and biohazard disposal.
• Compliance with the Medical Waste Management Act is the responsibility of every generator of medical waste in California, and this Manual is a tool to make it easier for your health care staff to evaluate operations, identify problems and correct faulty procedures, all in a cost-effective manner.

MedPro offers compliant and cost-effective California medical waste disposal and biohazard disposal!

Our Online Compliance Portal Makes Medical Waste Disposal in California Easy

The California DHS Self-Assessment Manual’s hands-on approach to California medical waste disposal and biohazard disposal management exemplifies the same comprehensive methodology that you will need from a local medical waste disposal service. To further your facility’s self-assessment, and to give you all the tools, guidance and knowledge you need, MedPro offers an Online Safety Compliance Portal for every customer.

For instance, health care facilities are required by OHSA to provide Safety Data Sheets to communicate their medical safety management of the treatment, storage and disposal of medical waste. The Compliance Portal will help you to search, view, print, store and organize your Safety Data Sheets for full OHSA/JCAHO compliance.

You can use the Portal to follow applicable OHSA regulations and audit your facility, use the Online Safety Plan Builder to build your facility’s OHSA required safety plan in one hour, stay up to date with regulations, complete necessary training in an interactive multimedia environment, or arrange for more in-depth training from MedPro staff.

MedPro: The Collaborative California Medical Waste Company

Collaboration is one of the most successful paradigms for success, and that’s as true for medical waste disposal companies in California as it is for other organizations. The partnership of staff members, working together for your health facility’s common good, with strong awareness, knowledge and communication, will create a team who can solve problems, create solutions, and move forward in an environment of honesty, trust, and safety. 

These are the touchstones for a successful self-assessment of your current treatment, disposal and storage procedures for medical waste. Have you considered how other medical waste disposal companies, including your current one, are meeting your needs and where they’re falling short? If you need more help, MedPro is ready to assist. 

We want to collaborate with you to make sure your needs are met and your concerns are addressed. Working together, as your facility grows and changes, we can advise you, and provide you with useful tools, cost-efficient solutions, reliable California medical waste disposal and biohazard disposal management, and straightforward customer service. When you choose us, there are no guessing games about whether your facility will comply with public health and safety mandates surrounding California medical waste management.