How to Dispose of Infectious Waste

Infectious wastes include pathogenic or physically injurious wastes. These are often medical wastes that have the potential to spread deadly diseases or cause personal injury. In order to protect people from being exposed to these infectious wastes, the contaminants must be properly handled, packaged, marked and disposed. Usually, a waste management plan guides employees performing the disposal process. Practice good hygiene and properly handle such wastes to avoid cross contamination.

Things You'll Need

• Sharps container
• Bio-hazardous waste disposal bags
• Antiseptic soap
• Hand sanitizer
• Surface sanitizer

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Instructions

• 1

  Create a waste-management plan based on the wastes your company generates. Your inventory should include actual and possible infectious or pathological materials. Treat disposable materials that were contaminated with body fluids or blood as infectious waste, as well as broken needles, glassware, contaminated sharps or scalpel blades.

• 2

  Train your personnel on how to recognize and handle infectious wastes. Instruct the people handling these wastes to use personal protective equipment and appropriate sanitizing or hand-washing techniques.

• 3

  Distribute all puncture-proof sharps containers as well as infectious or bags for bio hazards to waste generating areas. Use your red bags marked with a recognized warning symbol for bio hazards when collecting infectious wastes. Store these wastes and ship them in leak-proof and durable containers.

• 4

  Segregate your pathological and infectious medical wastes from the hazardous and general wastes. Store these in a secure area that is well-sanitized and will contain leakage.

• 5

  Dispose your medical wastes through a permitted waste disposal facility for pathological and infectious wastes. Make sure that the facility makes use of stream sterilization, incineration or other approved destruction methods for handling and treating infectious wastes. Check with authorities to make sure that the facility complies with handling and management requirements.

• 6

  Sanitize and clean your hands using antiseptic soap or alcohol-based sanitizing products. Sanitize the horizontal or surface areas that may have had contact with the infectious wastes.