COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Medical Waste Disposal Guidelines [UPDATED]
By Wes Sonnier, President
Last updated November 2, 2024
Biomedical Waste Solutions, LLC has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation for developments in contamination control and COVID-19 (coronavirus) medical waste disposal procedures from the treatment of facilities that are treating COVID-19 (coronavirus) infected patients.
Our mission is to continue to properly dispose of medical waste from ALL facilities including from medical facilities and quarantine sites across the United States that have medical waste with COVID-19.
CDC Guidelines for COVID-19 Medical Waste Disposal
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded:
“Medical waste (trash) coming from healthcare facilities treating COVID-2019 patients is no different than waste coming from facilities without COVID-19 patients. CDC’s guidance states that management of laundry, food service utensils, and medical waste should be performed in accordance with routine procedures. There is no evidence to suggest that facility waste needs any additional disinfection.”
To date, there are new regulations confirmed by the CDC or other regulatory agencies pertaining to the handling of medical waste of sharps generated from the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
REMINDER: Follow Current Medical Waste Disposal Packaging
We would like to remind our customers to continue following current regulations regarding the correct packaging used for regulated medical waste and sharps.
Please note:
- Generators are responsible for packaging waste for transport to treatment facilities. Our drivers do not package medical waste.
- Each bag must be hand-tied. This can be done by gathering and twisting the neck of the bag and using a tie or hand knot to secure the bag. Each container must be securely closed.
- Closed red bags must not be visible once a secondary container (box or reusable tub) is closed.
- Improperly packaged medical waste boxes/containers or damaged boxes/containers will be denied pickup or returned to the generator.
We will continue to keep all of our current customers well informed of any changes or developments in regulatory procedures for COVID-19 (coronavirus) medical waste disposal.
Thank you so much for all the patronage, and TOGETHER we will get through this crisis.