In 1988, the federal United States court, made up the practically first medical waste management act in the country. This wast the Medical Waste Tracking Act or MWTA. The task of this act was to make Marathon -FL biohazardous waste pick up and disposal regulated and also easier to monitor medical wastes from the point of its origin (the health care facility that generated the waste), to the medical waste disposal plant where it will eventually be destroyed.
Today, the Medical Waste Tracking Act no longer exists, as it lasted only until 1991, but its influence on the medical waste disposal of the United States should not be in question. Almost every state in the US has a biohazardous waste disposal law that somehow leans on the Medical Waste Tracking Act from 1988. Just for reference, the MWTA was initially made for only 4 states and 1 territory in the east coast of the US (New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Puerto Rico.
As we mentioned already, medical wastes usually originate at the health care facilities. Hospitals, clinics, nursery homes, dentist’ offices and other facilities where medicine on human or animals is practiced are the biggest contributor of all kinds of medical waste, including blood, body fluids, sharps, removed organs, tissue, amputated body parts, laboratory or microbiological waste, animal waste of all kinds (carcasses, beddings, body parts, tissue, organs), or other waste that has been contaminated by some biological and infections material or substance.
However, health care facilities are not the only ones that produce infectious waste. Private homes can also be the source of such waste and as such homeowners also must think about proper medical waste disposal.
Let’s take a look at how to deal with medical waste that you have gathered at your home.
Most homeowners, if they have to deal with any kind of medical waste disposal, it is usually the disposal of syringes and needles. These two fall under the category of “sharps waste” together with scalpels, razor blades, lancets and other medical instruments used for laceration or probing the skin of human or animal patients.
Now, when it comes to sharps, they should never be simply dumped in a trash can, Instead, the person using the needle should make sure to drop it (and the syringe) into a ready hard plastic container. This is called a “sharps container”.
Hospitals and other health care facilities use commercial sharps containers, but you don’t have to as a private individual. Anything that is made out of some hard durable plastic and has no holes (except for the one through which you put the sharps waste, of course) can be used as a sharps container. For example, a bleach or liquid soap bottle work great in this situation. Just make sure you have something with which to close the receptacle securely.
Once you close the sharps container, be sure to include a biohazard sign and a warning (“sharps waste”) on it and contact a professional and licensed Marathon-FL biohazard pick up and disposal company.
