Author: WellBeing Midwest

Everyone creates trash. However, the way in which we dispose of our trash and waste can and should be different. Some choose to recycle. Some choose to burn trash in a five-gallon drum. Some toss it in the nearest trash can. Yet, bio-medical waste is not your “normal” trash or waste. In fact, it is so unique and potentially hazardous that many states and the federal government have rules and regulations on how it should be disposed of properly.

The regulations shouldn’t be taken lightly either because your facility could face hefty fines. Avoid the following medical waste disposal mistakes when considering your facility’s biomedical waste disposal.

1. IMPROPER HANDLING OF BIOMEDICAL WASTE
When it comes to handling medical waste, it is very important to follow rules and regulations. These rules are not designed to make your job more difficult, but to help keep you and others safe.

OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enforces workplace safety regulations and sets requirements for OSHA training at more than seven million workplaces. If your facility handles biomedical waste, then it is important to know the specific guidelines provided by OSHA, your state of operation, and the government.

At Wellbeing Midwest, we understand the importance of staying compliant. We offer training to help your employees stay safe and keep your facility from getting fined due to non-compliance.

2. NOT HAVING THE PROPER TRAINING
Again, training your employees is a BIG deal. No matter where you work or the industry you are in, it is important that you provide proper and relevant training to your employees. Not only does this help your employees understand what is expected of them, but it also prevents confusion later on if something does come up.

In addition to providing education to you and your employees, we can work with you to create a DOT approved Biomedical Waste Plan, customized to fit the needs of your facility. These plans, along with proper training, help keep your team, our team, and the public safe from potentially infectious wastes.

3. PLACING WASTE IN THE WRONG CONTAINERS
Due to the infectious nature of some medical waste, it is important to place waste in the correct containers. You cannot toss medical waste in a regular trash can beside your desk or put used needles in an old gallon milk jug. It is also important to label medical waste containers properly. This helps with identifying what types of waste go into what container.

Wellbeing Midwest offers the necessary biohazard red bags and biohazard boxes/containers to keep you safe and compliant. These containers are specifically designed to hold biohazardous material securely until we come to safely dispose of them.

Midwest Wellbeing is here to help you with all your biomedical waste disposal needs. Give us a call or e-mail us today and let us work with you to create a biomedical waste disposal schedule that is right for your clinic, business, or facility.

Does your facility produce medical waste? Do you need to have your facility’s waste removed properly and legally? Is your business new to the area and you don’t know who to call?  Or, are you searching for a new medical waste removal company? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then it’s important that you know what questions to ask before hiring a medical waste removal company.

WHAT TYPE OF MEDICAL WASTE CONTRACT WILL I BE SIGNING? 
This is probably the number one question you need to ask before signing on with any company for any service. At Wellbeing Midwest, we strongly believe in treating our customers the way they deserve to be treated.  We do not enter into binding contracts.  We are flexible with our clients!  We work hard so that they want to continue with us, not because a contract says they have to.

Our medical waste disposal business is built on a foundation of respect, honesty, and integrity. There are no hidden fees and you won’t see incremental increases in your bill as time goes on.  We are happy to assess your needs and provide you with a FREE quote!

HOW EASY WILL IT BE TO ACCESS MY INFORMATION AND REACH CUSTOMER SERVICE? 
The great thing about Wellbeing is that we pride ourselves on customer service.  We make ourselves available to our customers whenever a need arises.  Our team is always on hand to answer any questions you may have and access any information you may need. And you’ll be speaking to us, not someone in another part of the country or world.  We make ourselves available via email or phone.  For any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out!  In addition, we will be reaching out to you on a regular basis to make sure you have all of the information, products and resources you need.

WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE WITH MEDICAL WASTE REMOVAL? 
Medical waste removal is not regulated the same as regular garbage you toss in your trash at home. There are several rules, guidelines, and regulations surrounding the proper disposal of biomedical waste products.  You can count on Wellbeing Midwest to keep you current on regulations.

IS YOUR COMPANY A FULL-SERVICE MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANY? 
When it comes to your medical waste, you don’t want several different companies taking care of different things. Wellbeing Midwest is a full-service medical waste management company. We offer services in medical waste removal, medical waste transport, and medical waste disposal. This includes pharmaceutical and sharps disposal.

In addition, we offer training for our clients. We want our employees to be safe, and we want your employees to be safe. These trainings cover topics such as handling sharps, properly disposing of pharmaceuticals, and how to handle pathological waste.

CHOOSE WELLBEING MIDWEST
Don’t waste your time looking for another medical waste disposal company. Wellbeing Midwest provides all of the services you need: affordable pricing, excellent customer service, and flexible scheduling. Let us take the hassle out of managing your medical waste and help your business stay compliant – Get a free quote today!

Medical waste containers aren’t trash cans. You can’t just throw anything in them. Only certain items should be disposed of in these special containers.  They are designed to contain and seal biohazardous waste for transport. However, some rules can be confusing, which may result in improper use of medical waste containers or improper disposal of biohazardous waste. Simple mistakes can lead to violations of local and state laws, which can result in costly fines.

Below are some important rules to remember when disposing of waste into medical waste containers.

What Items Go into Medical Waste Containers?

As a rule, any waste item generated from the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings and animals is considered medical waste. In addition, any non medical waste item tainted or contaminated with biohazardous material is also considered medical waste. The following items should be disposed of in medical waste containers:

• Blood and other bodily fluids such as spinal, peritoneal and lymph fluids
• Microbiological waste such as cultures, stocks and discarded biologicals, broths, inoculates, lab samples and live and attenuated vaccines
• Parts of human or animal anatomy (normal or diseased) such as organs, tissues, body parts, nails, hair, teeth and human and animal cadavers
• Sharps wastes including needles, syringes, Pasteur pipettes, capillary tubes, broken glassware from labs, glass slides, razors and scalpel blades
• Pharmacological waste like discarded drugs and expired medicines
• Unused or discarded medicines for chemotherapy and their empty packages and bottles
• Remains or parts of animals used for research and experiments
• Isolation wastes from animal or human highly communicable diseases like Lassa fever virus, Marburg virus, monkey pox virus and Ebola virus

What Items Do NOT Go into Medical Waste Containers?

It’s common for the below items to mistakenly find their way into medical waste containers. But some can cost you and your business a lot of money!

• Diapers: Dispose of contents in the toilet and throw out the rest as municipal waste.
• Soiled linens: Almost all laundry services are able to process regularly soiled linens.
• Dialysate: This must be disposed of in the toilet.
• Urine and/or feces: Discard in the toilet.
• Cardboard packages of medicines: Throw away as municipal waste. However, packages of chemotherapy medicines must be disposed of as chemotherapy waste.
• Trash: Recycle or discard as municipal waste. This includes items like paper, cardboard, waste metal, tin cans, yard clippings, wood, glass and bedding
• Garbage: Items generated from the processing or cooking of food must be disposed of as municipal waste.

Medical waste has immense potential to cause harm. Some items are contaminated with blood and other bodily fluids, which can cause disease. Others, like discarded needles and scalpels, are sharp and may be tainted with pathogens that can cause hepatitis and AIDS. Others contain chemicals like mercury, solvents, disinfectants and heavy metals that can cause birth defects, poisoning and organ damage. Medical waste with radiation can cause burns and increase cancer risk.

There are many reasons for such strict rules and regulations when it comes to disposing of medical waste.  The safety reasons are mentioned above, but another is the significant expense.  Compared to household waste, collection and disposal of medical waste is much costlier. Therefore, individuals and staff should make a concerted effort to segregate and minimize the generation of medical waste.

At Wellbeing Midwest, we pride ourselves in helping to keep medical waste disposal affordable to our clients.  Not only do we provide continuous education on best practices, but we also provide our services with no contracts or hidden fees.  Contact us today for a FREE quote.

A dental office is a busy place. Patients are going in and out of exam rooms: Dentists, hygienists, and assistants are buzzing from one patient to the next. This constant movement, along with the design of the dental exam rooms can pose a problem for many dental offices when it comes time to plan for proper medical waste management.

Understanding where medical waste disposal containers should be placed is key to the safety of staff and patients alike. Knowing what to and what not to dispose of in a medical waste receptacle is key to lowering disposal costs.

Below are the most common types of biomedical waste in a dental practice:

1. SHARPS
One of the reasons people fear going to the dentist is due to their fear of needles. Sharps are used on a regular basis in dental offices for a variety of reasons. Many times, needles are used for local anesthetic purposes or to draw blood from a patient who may be undergoing oral surgery.

Because of the potential risks associated with sharps, they should always be placed in a clearly labeled sharps container. Wellbeing Midwest provides red biohazard sharps containers that are puncture resistant and leak proof. Not only does this help keep your staff safe, but it also prevents accidents, protects your patients, and helps make the overall medical waste pickup and removal easier.

2. BLOOD SOAKED PRODUCTS
There are many dental treatments resulting in blood soaked products such as gauze. Blood soaked gauze is a bio-hazardous material that may also be considered a bloodborne pathological waste product. These blood-soaked products should be thrown away in a designated area such as a leak proof and puncture resistant red biohazard bag or a clearly marked biohazard container.

We can help you decide what size red waste container you will need based on the flow of your business. This will help your practice stay compliant and save you money in the long run.

3. MERCURY AMALGAMS, SILVER WASTE, LEAD WASTE
Since mercury amalgams (material used in fillings) contain mercury, they must never be thrown in the trash, down the drain, or even in a red medical waste container. In fact, there are specific regulations surrounding the disposal of this highly toxic element such as using amalgam separators to catch as much mercury as possible.

In addition to mercury, there are still some dental practices which have to worry about silver waste. If your practice hasn’t been able to upgrade to digital x-ray technology, then chances are high that silver fixer is still being used. Silver fixer should never be washed down the drain. Silver waste product can be collected and disposed of by a professional biomedical waste company.

If your practice uses any products containing lead such as lead aprons, then it is very important to dispose of the lead products properly when needed. We can work with your staff to provide proper biomedical waste disposal training and biomedical waste solutions for your overall practice.

4. CHEMICALS AND STERILIZATION PRODUCTS
Many chemicals and sterilization products used in dental offices can be harmful to the environment, your staff, and your patients. Since some chemicals are considered hazardous, learn as much as you can and follow all federal guidelines and regulations. If you have questions regarding the types of chemicals used in your practice and want to know how to dispose of them properly, contact us! Our team is here to help when you need it.

LET WELLBEING MIDWEST CREATE BIOMEDICAL WASTE SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR PRACTICE
Whether you are a dentist office in Overland Park, or Lawrence, an Urgent Care Clinic in the Northland or a vet clinic in the heart of Kansas City, Wellbeing Midwest can help you create a biomedical waste plan that will save you time, money, and a little sanity when it comes to dealing with state and federal regulated medical waste disposal.

Do you have a trusted company for biomedical waste pick-up and disposal? One that promises no hidden fees and provides education throughout the partnership? If not, give us a call at 913-685-4183 or shoot us a message and our biomedical waste disposal process and biomedical waste management services.