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Biomedical waste is not limited to medical instruments; it includes medicine, waste stored in red biohazard bags, and materials used for patient care, such as cotton and bandaids. The most serious effect that biomedical waste has on our seas is the discharge of poisons into the waters that could then be consumed by ocean life creatures.
In the United States, sharps containers are usually red and marked with the universal biohazard symbol for ease of recognition. Elsewhere, they are often yellow. Waste is loaded into the container until it reaches a certain height, which is usually around three-quarters of the way full. At that point, the container is emptied or disposed of.
Regulated medical waste (RMW), or "red bag waste", is a waste expenditure that typically costs hospitals 6 to 10 times more to dispose of than regular solid waste. [30] Among the inventory of devices reprocessed annually, ninety-five percent (95%) are recycled at the end of their life cycle rather than sent to landfills . [ 31 ]
The Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988 was a United States federal law concerning the illegal dumping of body tissues, blood wastes and other contaminated biological materials. It established heavy penalties for knowingly endangering life through noncompliance.
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Stericycle was founded in 1989 by Dr. James Sharp based on his business plan to address the Syringe Tide, where hypodermic needles and other medical waste washed up to the shores of New York and New Jersey. The Syringe Tide led to the Medical Waste Tracking Act, signed in 1988, establishing regulated medical waste management as an industry. [10]
Alameda County was the first county in the United States to make the manufacturer pay for safe disposal of pharmaceutical waste. This ordinance required companies that manufacture drugs sold and distributed in Alameda County must operate and pay for a "Product Stewardship Program."
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