As a medical professional, your first priority is ensuring that your patients receive the best care and treatments possible. However, what comes after treatment should also rank high on your list of concerns. Improper disposal of pharmaceutical waste can lead to water contamination and public health concerns — not to mention a fine for your organization. It is crucial to properly segregate your waste types in order to dispose of each with a correct vendor/process. Use these six quick tips to make sure that your pharmaceutical waste management in Montgomery County is up to code:
Remove biohazardous waste. The pharmaceutical waste disposal process varies from that of biohazardous waste, so you’ll want to keep biohazardous waste in a separate red marked container.
Remove chemotherapy waste. Chemotherapy waste is considered to be especially dangerous to the public, even in trace amounts. Separate all chemotherapy waste including IV tubing, medical containers, and even gloves worn by staff members handling chemotherapy chemicals. Place chemotherapy waste in a separately marked yellow chemotherapy waste container.
Remove controlled substances. The Drug Enforcement Agency requires that unused controlled substances must be either returned to the manufacturer or destroyed. Contact your manufacturer if you have controlled substances on your premise and remember to remove them from your pharmaceutical waste.
Remove any other hazardous waste. Some pharmaceutical waste has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as hazardous waste and requires very particular disposal. You can view a full list of hazardous medications here. Separate these hazardous wastes in their own quarantined black container.
Package the remaining waste. Non-hazardous pharmaceutical waste should be packed in pharmaceutical waste container in Chester County, like the 8-gallon container available from Choice MedWaste. Placing the waste in clearly marked blue and white containers will help ensure proper disposal.
Call a licensed pharmaceutical waste disposal company. Pharmaceutical waste disposal companies like Choice MedWaste can follow disposal requirements and ensure that your pharmaceutical, biohazardous, or chemotherapy waste is destroyed properly.
If you are in need of medical waste disposal or would like to learn more about the pharmaceutical waste disposal process, give Choice MedWaste a call today at 302-766-7575.
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