What Are Some Examples of Biohazard Waste?
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Anything that is soaked in blood (gloves, gauze, gowns etc.)
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Human or animal tissues created during procedures
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Cultures of infectious diseases/agents
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Any waste produced in patient’s rooms with communicable diseases
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Discarded vaccines
First of All, what is Biohazard Waste?
Iowa State University defines biohazardous waste as “All biologically contaminated waste that could potentially cause harm to humans, domestic or wild animals or plants. Examples include human and animal blood, tissues, and certain body fluids, recombinant DNA, and human, animal or plant pathogens.” In more layman terms, biohazardous waste is any waste contaminated with potentially infectious materials. Disposing of this waste isn’t like throwing garbage away – you have to put the waste in dedicated biohazard disposal bags, often called Red Bags, and then the bags are put into bio waste containers for safe collection and transportation.
(https://www.ehs.iastate.edu/publications/factsheets/sharps.pdf)
Why Do You Have to Put These Things in Special Containers?
Because of the potential diseases biohazardous waste contains it must be sterilized before finally being disposed of. In one of our other infographic resource (https://www.medprodisposal.com/happens-medical-waste-picked/) We created an infographic in which we went over what happens after medical waste is picked up. The summary is it’s transported to a sanitation facility, put through an autoclave and then taken to a sanitary landfill where they process and safely discard it.
How Can I Have My Medical Waste Picked Up?
MedPro offers a low cost biohazard waste disposal solution that focuses specifically on worker and environmental safety, compliance, and customer satisfaction. If you would like to learn more visit us on the web at https://www.medprodisposal.com or give us a call at 888-641-6131.
