State-by-State
Regulated Medical Waste Resource Locator

Regulations governing management and disposal of medical waste are mainly defined at a state, rather than a federal level. An important exception is when medical waste is transported; during transport it comes under federal U.S. Department of Transportation regulations (see: DOT Rules).

State definitions of medical waste and regulated medical waste (RMW) vary somewhat from state to state, however, in general, RMW generated from veterinary facilities is limited by state definitions to:

• Sharps waste (all needles, syringes with attached needles, suture needles, scalpels, and similar wastes), and
• Animal carcasses, body parts, bedding and related wastes when animals are intentionally infected with organisms likely to be pathogenic to healthy humans for the purposes of research, in vivo testing, production of biological materials or any other reason.

The medical waste management and disposal rules also vary from state to state. Use this tool to determine how medical waste is regulated in your state and to locate agency personnel who can further assist you.

Select a state by clicking on the map.