Medical Office Waste Disposal in Doctors Offices

Medical Office Waste Disposal

Each year, more than 166,666 tons of regulated medical waste is generated by New York State doctor's offices, blood labs, universities, veterinary offices, research labs, biotech companies and more. New Jersey's medical waste is equally substantial.

Routinely used doctor's office items like syringes, petri dish cultures and contaminated gloves cannot simply be thrown in the communal waste bin. Physician offices face a huge conundrum and expense when all this trash is not managed properly. Since 2006, Citiwaste has worked with doctors offices in NYC and New Jersey to properly dispose of medical waste.

How do doctor's offices get rid of their medical waste?

The New York Department of Sanitation does not collect regulated medical, laboratory or surgical waste.

Regulated medical waste includes:

• Human pathological waste
• Human blood and blood products
• Needles and syringes (sharps)
• Cultures and stocks (microbiological materials)
• Any materials contaminated with infectious agents

Doctor's offices must file a removal plan with the department that certifies their garbage contains only material that can be legally disposed of in NYC. Then they must either apply for permission from the Business Integrity Commission to haul their own waste or contact a specially licensed hauler who will ensure that all waste is properly autoclaved, incinerated or chemically disinfected.

According to the Department of Sanitation, using a private carter is "easier and less expensive" in most cases. Citiwaste is specially licensed to haul regulated medical waste to transfer and treatment facilities for proper decontamination and disposal that protects the population from spread of disease and groundwater contamination.

Medical waste management services for New Jersey and New York doctors

In addition to arranging flexible waste pickup, Citiwaste provides the following services for doctors' office:

• Employee training on proper separation of medical waste
• Providing the necessary bins mandated by the state
• Distributing resource guides and flyers to assist with waste classification
• Customer support to answer any questions you may have about compliance with the law

Medical waste disposal was once a serious problem in NY and NJ

New York City had a serious problem with medical waste disposal in the late 1980s. The NY Times reported on August 24, 1987: "About two years ago, people in the Westchester County hamlet of Cortlandt began complaining about odors from an old warehouse about 100 feet from a children's dance studio. When health inspectors responded, they were stunned by their discovery: about five tons of hospital and medical debris and trash, including surgically removed body parts and hypodermic needles."

Furthermore, they reported, more medical waste was discovered in a burning Brooklyn warehouse and washing up on the shores of New Jersey's finest beaches. In the immediate fall-out, 12 doctor's offices (along with 110 hospitals) were fined $499,000 for violations.

Since then, strict laws have been passed and enforced to ensure that medical waste is properly hauled and incinerated. Today, these laws are overseen by multiple agencies, including the New York State Department of Health, the State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), to name a few.

Why use Citiwaste for your doctor's office?

• Experience: Don't trust your doctor's office medical waste disposal to just anyone. Citiwaste is up-to-date with the latest laws and has maintained positive relationships with medical waste facilities since 2006.
• Flexibility: Citiwaste covers everywhere from Rockland and Westchester to Orange and Dutchess County, to all 5 boroughs of New York City. We offer flexible pickup schedules that best meet your needs - whether it's daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly or on-call pickup.
• Communication: A representative is available to discuss any questions or concerns you may have.
• Hassle-Free Pricing: Some companies hit you with a litany of additional fees, but with Citiwaste pricing, what you see is what you get! There are no extra service, fuel or environmental charges to worry about - and no hidden fees!

Call  877-535-CITI (2484) for a free estimate.

Resources

1. NY Times - The Dangers of Dumping Medical Waste Are Under Scrutiny
2. NYC Department of Sanitation - Recycling For Businesses
3. DEC - Regulated Medical Waste
4. Department of Health - Managing Regulated Medical Waste