Don’t Let Medical Hazardous Waste Collection Ruin Your New Year!
A new year can cause you to think about so many things – your life, your relationships, your work, your purpose, and, from a business mindset, a new year means a lot too – new challenges, new goals, a vision for the future. A new year usually brings feelings of promise and positivity. However, if your business has anything to do with hazardous waste, the positive thoughts about the new year can easily turn to dread and frustration, especially if you are looking to hire a third party for waste collection. Regardless of the size of your business, it can be a downright nightmare to figure out how to cover all of your bases – how to handle collection correctly, what rules have to be followed, which collection company is the best fit for your business – the list goes on and your aggravation level goes up. Not the way you want to start a new year!
What is hazardous medical waste?
Hazardous waste, by definition, is waste that can potentially be harmful to human health or the environment when not handled properly. If you work in any part of the medical field, there are two types of medical waste – regulated medical waste (RMW) and unregulated medical waste (UMW). Along with the World Health Organization, the Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulate how hazardous medical waste is managed. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also has specific standards for biohazard waste (waste with any biological elements). Knowing and understanding the guidelines and regulations for hazardous waste collection in your specific field or industry will make your job a whole lot easier.
Relieve the Pressure
There are very specific steps for identifying, collecting, and preparing any kind of hazardous waste, and when you’re dealing with RMW, there are typically even more stringent regulations to be followed. You don’t have to let the details get you down – you can take some pressure off of yourself by hiring the best full-service medical waste management company. Rather than contracting different companies to handle different types of waste, a full-service waste management company can handle everything, leaving you to manage one contract. Here are 4 things to keep in mind as you look for the best management company to fit your needs:
Compliance
When you’re seeking help from a third party for any service, it’s easy to want short cuts or look for the cheapest price. But when it comes to finding the right medical waste management company, quality is much more important, and proper collection and disposal isn’t just an option – it’s the law. A certified biomedical waste company should know compliance regulations inside and out, including federal and state laws for each type of waste they handle (and even ones they don’t!)
Experience
Experience in the medical waste management industry is priceless. An experienced company will not only have a proven track record of superior service, but they will have also optimized their processes and routes to ensure optimal pickup and proper disposal. Find a company that has been around the proverbial block – you want to work with people who have seen how the industry has evolved, making the proper changes to service their clients better.
Security
Any waste management company worth its salt will take security very seriously. If any part of the medical waste collection or disposal process is mishandled, the liability will rest on everyone involved, including your business. Think about everything involved with your medical waste – sharps, PHI (personal health information), red bag waste – there is a lot more at stake than just emptying a hazardous waste container. A full-service partner should be able to provide you with any and all insurance information, proper permits and licenses, and every standard procedure they utilize for each type of waste they handle.
Options
You know what your company needs for collection and disposal of medical waste, and the waste management company you choose should be able to give you the options for services that apply to those specific needs. Whether you need on-site or off-site destruction services, specific types of treatment (like incineration, using autoclaves, etc.), or flexible scheduling, the right company should be able to meet every need your company has.
Handling hazardous waste is a necessary evil, but you can take the guesswork and stress out of collection and disposal and keep your new year moving in the right direction by finding the right medical waste management company for your business. If you’re located in the Birmingham or Huntsville, AL areas and are looking for a company to help assess your medical waste collection and disposal needs, contact us at SecureMed – we specialize in medical hazardous waste collection and disposal, PHI protection and document and data destruction, covering all sides of your facility. Get a quick quote today!
