Health Waste

7/6/21 COVID-19 UPDATE:

Thank you for your patience during the COVID-19 public health emergency. As staff at state agencies return to state office buildings, we anticipate operations will begin to resemble pre-pandemic conditions. However, we will continue to utilize online or virtual business practices that were found to be efficient over the past year.

Field work, including compliance inspections, continue to take place but you may notice an uptick in activity as conditions allow. In most cases, staff will continue to schedule pre-inspection calls with facilities to gather some of the information that would previously have been collected while on-site. These advance calls will also be used to discuss safety protocols for on-site visits that may be needed to complete all aspects of a compliance assessment.

Staff will keep their voicemails and availability messages up to date and will respond as they are able.

For the most up-to-date information, please visit our COVID-19 information webpage.

Healthcare waste may be generated in households or healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, clinics and nursing homes, as well as medical research facilities, laboratories, veterinary practices, first aid stations and schools. Some products used for healthcare, such as sharps, chemotherapy drugs, pharmaceuticals and disinfectants, may harm the environment and human health if they are not disposed of properly. Guidelines for properly managing healthcare waste can differ depending on where the waste is generated, managed and disposed.