A SQG is defined as a generator of infectious waste with generally three or fewer professionals in practice and generates less than 50 pounds of waste per month. A LQG is defined as generating more than 50 pounds of waste per month.

If you generate less than 50 pounds of waste per month and qualify as a SQG then you do NOT need to submit the annual reports but you do need to keep records of all your medical waste and manifests.

In Delaware, all generators of infectious waste are required to keep a small spill clean-up kit within one hundred feet of any area infectious waste is managed. Choice MedWaste offers these kits and can include them in delivery of your boxes.

LQGs, a facility generating more than 50 pounds of waste for month, must submit annual reports no later than 90 days after the calendar year. The reports must include description of infectious waste, weight of infectious waste, names and addresses of persons transporting the infectious waste and the names and locations being used to dispose of the infectious waste. Choice MedWaste can provide these reports.

All generators in Delaware need to register with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Controls to receive an Infectious Waste Identification Number. If you need assistance with this, please let us know and we can help get you the correct forms needed. Please click here for additional information.

Regulated medical waste is defined as any solid waste that is generated in the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of biologicals. It does not include hazardous or radioactive waste.

Medical waste and infectious waste are the same things but some states and agencies refer to them separately.

You must keep records of your manifests for at least 3 years.

Choice MedWaste is permitted in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania to transport medical/infectious waste. If you need medical waste services in any other states, please do not hesitate to call. We can help you find the best services for you and your company. Our network of privately owned, customer service focused haulers is extensive.

You should always review your company’s current policies and procedures to identify what qualifies as medical waste. A broad, yet simple, answer to this question is anything that has been in contact with blood or bodily fluids that could potentially cause harm to the environment or population.

Line the cardboard box with the appropriate red biohazard bag provided to you by Choice Medwaste. Once it is full of the appropriate medical waste, tie the bag at the top and close the box with tape. According to regulations, the box must be sealed without any visible leakage or punctures. If the box does not comply with regulations, you will need to repackage the box before it is picked up for disposal or Choice can repackage it for you.

Sharps may include, but are not limited to, needles, syringes, scalpels, slides, cover slips, pipettes and blood tubes. These materials may go through additional handling steps prior to disposal, and Sharps represent the highest potential for injury and exposure. Sharps also include anything which is presently sharp, or has the potential to become sharp (plastic if broken, etc.). Sharps must be packaged in rigid, sealed, puncture-resistant and approved containers prior to being placed in the medical waste box.

Each facility generating regulated medical waste should have a written definition of the types of wastes/categories included as part of its regulated medical waste management procedure protocol. The definition should include those waste materials that are included in the definitions of regulated medical waste within applicable Federal, State, County, and Municipal regulations. Regulated medical waste generators should also consider the policies of local solid waste landfills that might exclude certain materials from the landfill, even though they are not regulated as medical waste. Common materials which are typically classified as regulated medical waste include, but are not limited to: Blood & blood products Items saturated with blood or blood products Other body fluids capable of harboring potentially infectious microorganisms and items contaminated with these fluids Cultures and stocks of microbiological agents including tissues fixed in formaldehyde Vaccines Sharps* Other potentially infectious materials Expired medications (Non hazardous and non narcotic) ** Anatomical wastes (body parts and organs) of humans and animals (small) ** Chemotherapy wastes (materials containing trace amounts – no more than 3% by weight of the total capacity of the container – of U-listed chemotherapeutic/cytotoxic agents) ** *Sharps may include, but are not limited to, needles, syringes, scalpels, slides, cover slips, pipettes and blood tubes. These materials may go through additional handling steps prior to disposal, and sharps represent the highest potential for injury and exposure. Sharps also include anything which is presently sharp, or has the potential to become sharp (if broken, etc.). Sharps must be packaged in rigid, sealed, puncture-resistant containers prior to being placed in the transport container(rigid plastic). **Expired medications, anatomical parts and chemotherapy wastes are to be segregated and placed in a separate reusable container. These three waste streams may be combined in one reusable container. Either a red or yellow label may be used. These wastes are treated by high temperature incineration. If they are comingled with other medical waste, the entire container must be incinerated.

The following waste materials are not acceptable for inclusion in any regulated medical waste stream. Placement of these materials in a Choice MedWaste container may constitute grounds for immediate contract termination and/or assumption of liability for any fines or damages incurred: Any material not considered Regulated/Infectious Medical Waste or Sharps as defined above. Any material possessing the characteristics of, or containing materials regulated for, flammability, corrosiveness, reactivity or EP toxicity as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency Regulations for Defining Hazardous Waste in CFR 261.21 through 261.24. Any material or substance considered hazardous or toxic as defined by applicable federal, state, or provincial laws or regulations. Any compressed gas cylinders or aerosol containers. Any materials regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and/or the Department of Transportation as radioactive. However, it should be noted that materials containing the isotopes tritium (H3) or Carbon 14 (C14) having an average value below 0.002 micro curie/gram are not regulated by the NRC, DOT or most state agencies and therefore may be acceptable to place in Choice MedWaste containers. Human torso including fetal torso. Unacceptable waste will also include medical waste that is inappropriately packaged. See below details under the “Packaging” sections. IT IS IMPERATIVE TO NOTE THAT IF A WASTE MATERIAL HAS MORE THAN ONE REGULATED CHARACTERISTIC, IT MUST FIRST BE MANAGED ACCORDING TO THE REGULATIONS FOR THE MOST HAZARDOUS CHARACTERISTIC WHICH THE MATERIAL POSSESSES. ONCE THAT CHARACTERISTIC IS TREATED OR NEUTRALIZED, LESS HAZARDOUS CHARACTERISTICS CAN BE MANAGED. For instance: a blood contaminated syringe that contains traces of a radioisotope tagged chemical must first be treated for the radioisotope .

Sharps must be placed in a rigid and puncture resistant container. These can be provided by Choice MedWaste. Once the container is full, they have lids that need to be properly sealed to ensure no Sharps fall out of the containers. Once the container is sealed, it may be placed right in the medical waste box inside of a red bag. *Please note that Sharps may NOT be placed in the medical waste box unless they are in a container. The container reduces the risk of needle sticks.*

Choice can accept all of the above wastes. Pharmaceutical Drugs and Amalgam will need to have a specific container set up for transportation and disposal. Please contact our office to get set up. Pathological and Chemotherapeutic Waste can be accepted by Choice MedWaste and placed in any of our medical waste containers. They must be properly labeled with a Pathological or Chemotherapeutic Waste label that will be provided by Choice upon request. Please do not hesitate to call us if you need some.

You need written approval from the DEP to be able to put both Chemotherapy waste and Infectious Waste in the same container. If this is approved, the entire container will be incinerated for disposal. This approval is NOT required for Chemotherapy Sharps.

If you have greater than 20 cubic centimeters of Medical/Infectious Waste fluid, you must put the fluid in a break resistant container before placing it in the medical/infectious waste container.

In Pennsylvania, when the first piece of medical waste is placed in the container, the customer has a maximum of 30 days before that medical waste needs to be removed from their facility. If the waste begins to smell, then it needs to be picked up within 3 days.

DEP does not require an annual report created by the generator. Choice MedWaste is required to submit annual reports to DEP, not our clients.

Yes, Maryland Department of Environment requires all generators to have a generator identification number. If you need assistance with obtaining one, please click here.

In Maryland, you can hold the waste up to 14 days at room temperatures before it is picked up. Sharps in a sharps container do not have a limit to storage.