“Infectious waste” is defined by Utah statute (Utah Code Annotated Title 19 Section 6 Subsection 102) as: “A solid waste that contains or may reasonably be expected to contain pathogens of sufficient virulence and quantity that exposure to the waste by a susceptible host could result in an infectious disease.”

• Infectious waste may include such materials as used sharps (needles, syringes, blades, pipettes, broken glass, and blood vials), body fluids or materials mixed with body fluids, bandages, or other materials that have come in contact with body fluids.
• Waste containing blood and blood products, excretions, exudates, secretions, suctionings and other body fluids that cannot be directly discarded into a municipal sewer system should be handled as infectious waste. Body fluids in containers, in excess of small amounts remaining after draining or that drip freely or could be released in a liquid or semi-liquid state from soaked solid wastes items, and absorbent waste materials saturated with blood or body fluids (e.g. contaminated items that would release liquid or a semi-liquid form, if compressed with finger pressure) should be handled as infectious waste. Wastes that do not need to be handled as infectious waste include diapers soiled with urine or feces and articles contaminated with fully absorbed or dried blood, such as gauze, paper towels, and sanitary napkins.

A health facility that generates more than 200 pounds of infectious waste per month must:

• Prepare, maintain on file, and follow an infectious waste management plan and otherwise meet the requirements of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard.
• Except for sharps, isolate infectious waste in secured plastic bags or rigid containers. The containers must be red or orange or, if not red or orange, clearly identified with the international biohazard sign and label “INFECTIOUS WASTE,” “BIOMEDICAL WASTE,” or “BIOHAZARD.”
• Isolate sharps in leak-proof, rigid, puncture-resistant containers. The containers must be red or orange or, if not red or orange, clearly identified with the international biohazard sign and label “INFECTIOUS WASTE,” “BIOMEDICAL WASTE,” or “BIOHAZARD.”
• If storage is necessary, protect infectious waste from the elements in a storage area that is ventilated to the outside and accessible only to authorized persons. The storage area must be marked with prominent warning signs. If infectious waste is to be stored longer than seven days, it must be stored at or below 40 Fahrenheit (5 Celsius).