Florida Biohazard Waste Regulations

Highlighted Requirements

Storage of biomedical waste at the generating facility shall not exceed 30 days. The 30-day period shall commence when the first non-sharps item of biomedical waste is placed into a red bag or sharps container, or when a sharps container containing only sharps is sealed.

All biomedical waste facilities, except those facilities operating under a DEP permit, shall obtain an annual permit from the department. This includes biomedical waste generators, storage facilities, treatment facilities, and waste sharps collection programs.

Overview

Florida’s medical waste disposal regulations are managed by the Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Waste Management and the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Environmental Health. The complete detailed disposal requirements are outlined in Chapter 64E-16, Florida Administrative Code Biomedical Waste (pdf) . More information about the Florida biomedical waste program, including permit requirements, can be found on the Bureau of Environmental Health website.

OSHA Regulations

In addition to the state medical waste environmental regulations there are some Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules that apply to medical/infectious waste. Florida is one of 26 states covered entirely by the federal OSHA program. OSHA rules (Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens Standards) impact various aspects of medical/infectious waste, including management of sharps, requirements for containers that hold or store medical/infectious waste, labeling of medical/infectious waste bags/containers, and employee training.