Regulated medical waste (RMW), also known as ‘biohazardous’ waste or ‘infectious medical’ waste, is the portion of the waste stream that may be contaminated by blood, body fluids or other potentially infectious materials, thus posing a significant risk of transmitting infection

Contaminated sharps are all discarded sharp items derived from patient care in medical, research, or industrial facilities including glass vials containing materials defined as infectious, suture needles, hypodermic needles, scalpel blades, and Pasteur pipettes. Cultures and stocks of infectious agents are specimen cultures collected from medical and pathological laboratories, cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial laboratories, wastes from the production of biological agents, discarded live and attenuated vaccines, and culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate or mix cultures. Blood and blood products. Pathological wastes are human tissues and body parts that are removed during surgery or autopsy.

Medical waste management is regulated under the state’s solid waste program, if it is treated properly. Infectious solid waste which is generated and treated at a medical clinic, doctor’s office, nursing care facility, health care facility, dentist’s office or other similar facility may be placed with municipal solid waste and not handled in a special way if it is rendered nonpathological, does not contain free liquids, and sharps are shredded, blunted, granulated, incinerated or mechanically destroyed.