Biohazard waste consists of materials contaminated with body fluids, blood, or other infectious matter that can prove to be a threat for health. Such items are also referred to as clinical, biomedical, healthcare, or medical waste.
Red and yellow medical waste bags are widely used in the United States. But, what about yellow and blue bags used by medical facilities? Overall, how does color coding help? Who regulates medical waste disposal? Let’s find answers to these and other crucial questions concerning biohazard bag colors.
How do color-coding biohazard bags help?
Healthcare service providers, pathology labs, blood banks and donation centers, vet clinics, and animal research centers generate a considerable amount of biohazard waste.
This category of waste includes needles, used syringes, and other sharps. Even contaminated gloves, bandages, and gauze make it to the list. And of course, it also comprises pathological waste, as well as laboratory waste. All these items need to be segregated and sent to be disposed of accordingly. And this is where biohazard bag color enters the picture. Color coding on biohazard bags helps ensure medical waste gets categorized and ends up where it belongs.
Red: A Warning Symbol
Red biohazard waste bags are meant for medical waste contaminated with blood. These bags are non-chlorinated and have a biohazard symbol.
Basically, any materials that have come in contact with blood, bodily fluids, or other potentially infectious stuff can be disposed of in red bags. For example, it can be blood contaminated personal protective equipment (PPE), swabs, gauze pads, bandages, used catheter tubes, IV tubes, blood-draw syringes without needle, etc.
Large quantities of biohazard waste is generated by hospitals, healthcare facilities, and labs. Thus, red biohazard bags are in great demand compared to other options.
What about sharp objects? Well, syringes with attached needles, razor blades,scalpels, and other sharps with traces of blood need to be disposed of in red biohazard waste collection bins.
What Are Yellow Biohazard Waste Bags Meant For?
Yellow ones are used for disposing of clinical infectious waste, including materials consisting of pharmaceutical or chemical traces. Healthcare facilities use these yellow biohazard bags to dispose of tissues, dressings, swabs, soiled gloves, aprons, nappies, pads, contaminated hospital gowns, bed-linen, and other materials from hospital rooms.
Research labs also use them for disposing of vaccine waste,expired medicines, mutagenic drugs, chemotherapy drugs, laboratory cultures, and other pharmaceutical waste. Like red ones, these bags also have a biohazard symbol.
Wish to keep confusion out of the equation? Then remember, anything consisting of blood or human remains cannot be disposed of in Yellow bags.
Blue Biohazard Waste Bags
If red and yellow are biohazard colors, what's blue for? Is it a biohazard garbage bag color? Blue bags are meant for disposing unused antibiotics as well as any other non-RCRA pharmaceutical waste. Healthcare facilities also use them for disposing denatured drugs, and inhaler cartridges. Simply put, any non-hazardous medical waste can go in blue biohazard waste bags. Depending on the content, blue medical waste bags can be with or without biohazard symbols.
Who Introduced Color-Coding for Medical Waste?
The WHO, World Health Organization, has played a key role in the introduction of red as the ideal biohazard bags color for medical waste. Further, the awareness about public health risk caused by medical waste forced many countries to implement these standardized practices.
Helps Reduce Medical Waste Disposal Costs
The processes to dispose of medical waste also involves sterilization. Thus, it is costlier than managing or disposing of regular waste. And things become even more difficult if healthcare facilities fail to segregate their waste properly.
Color coded bags are a great starting point. They help ensure biomedical waste is properly segregated. Ultimately, facilities remain compliant to federal guidelines, and mother nature remains protected from biomedical waste. Most importantly, healthcare employees won't face health risks.
Who Regulates Medical Waste Disposal in the US? Is Compliance to Color Codes Mandatory?
As per data published by acumen research and consulting, each year, American healthcare facilities generate 5.9 million tonnes of HCW. So, there are regulations from both the state and federal government surrounding the same. State environment and health departments have regulations for medical waste. Plus there are certain guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), AND THE Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as well.
What if a Facility Administration Fails to Dispose of Waste in Biohazard Color Bags?
Failure to use the appropriate colored medical trash bags results in:
Health and safety risks for workers
Increased costs associated with waste disposal
Legal consequences, including fines and penalties
Reputation damage
Environmental damage
Conclusion
Your organization certainly does not wish to lose patient confidence and reputation due to a lack of a simple color coded infectious waste bag. Why not work with a full-service medical waste management company like San Diego Medi Waste? The locally owned and operated firm can ensure your medical waste is collected, packed, and disposed of appropriately ensuring compliance to various regulations.