Facts About Handling Pharmaceutical Waste in Houston and Pasadena, TX

 Healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and dentists’ offices generate an enormous amount of waste daily. Simply discarding it in the trash can is not wise. Instead, it is essential to collect and segregate different types of waste, store them, and dispose of them according to the safety regulatory standards in place. While medical wastes are believed to be deadly and potent enough to spread infections, pharmaceutical waste in Houston and Pasadena, TX, must be handled with extreme caution as well.

It is essential to know about such specific waste products, though. Pharmaceutical waste is any sort of unused, expired, or discarded medicine that will not be provided to patients for treatment anymore. Apart from the aforementioned sources of such specific wastes, pharmacies, laboratories, vet clinics, schools, and ships tend to generate such waste that must be disposed of properly to ensure compliance with the regulations. Moreover, residential properties may also generate such waste during patient care at home.

Pharmaceutical waste must be segregated to ensure there is no mix-up that may end up contaminating natural sources and the environment. Not all types of such waste materials are biohazards, however. Instead, it helps to identify and segregate the wastes by different types before putting them in OSHA-recommended storage containers.

The various types of pharmaceutical waste products that the facilities, patient care areas, and laboratories, as well as pharmacies, must be aware of include the following: -

· Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals- These wastes are regulated by the local, state, or federal health authorities under RCRA. The products are listed as hazardous wastes or those revealing characteristics of being corrosive, reactive, or toxic. Such waste products must be disposed of according to the strict regulations to maintain compliance. Certain products in this group may undergo incineration at any of the approved facilities.

· Nonhazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals- This includes medicines or pharmaceutical products left used due to contamination or expiration. Such products are considered hazardous for human health per se but must be disposed of according to the standards to prevent harming the environment.

· Controlled Substances—This includes pharmaceutical products or prescription medication scheduled by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). According to their effect, such substances may be categorized as nonhazardous or hazardous. All controlled substances must be disposed of according to the regulations in place.

· Trace Chemotherapy Waste- Vials or tunes containing less than 3% of the waste are usually disposed of normally.

· Bulk Chemotherapy Waste—Any container holding more than 3% of chemotherapy waste by volume is regarded as P-listed waste and must be disposed of according to the regulations.

Hiring a certified facility that carries the right license for medical waste collection in Houston and Pasadena, TX, is the norm. Trying to deal with the storage, transportation, and disposal of biohazards and contaminants capable of adversely affecting health is a strict no-no.