Disposal for Wastes Generated from Medical Device Manufacturers
Posted on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 @ 06:35 AM
By Todd Kato, Industrial Account Manager
There are many treatment technologies and disposal facilities across North America that treat a wide variety of wastes generated in the research and manufacturing workplace for medical device companies. I am often asked for my opinion to offer a summary on these options.
Medical Device manufacturers usually generate similar wastes from one company to another. These consist of halogenated and non-halogenated flammable solvents, wastewaters from cleaning medical devices and parts, IPA wipes, unused devices, and non-RCRA materials from production. The options for disposal consist of recycling, RCRA incineration, non-RCRA incineration, fuels blending, wastewater treatment, and stabilization and landfill.
Sometimes sifting through these options can be an arduous task between environmental compliance and budget. If you are unsure of your options, always seek out an environmental professional to assist you. A good starting point is to look at the options per waste stream.
Halogenated and Non-Halogenated Solvents – you can select recycling, fuels blending, or RCRA incineration. Generally, fuel blending offers a lower price over incineration and the material is reused in the cement kiln industry. Incineration is higher in price, but offers ultimate destruction. Recycling options exist for materials that are predominantly one solvent and provide beneficial reuse for the material.
Wastewaters from Cleaning Medical Devices – these materials may be RCRA hazardous or non-RCRA depending on the pH of the wastewater and any potential heavy metal constituents. Either way, wastewater treatment, stabilization and landfill, or incineration (if there is any organic content) are your options.
IPA Wipes – shredding for fuels blending or incineration are the main options.
Unused Medical Devices – this is a very broad category and the devices may be high in metal content or may not contain much metal content. I mention the metal content because your incinerators may or may not accept the material based on the amount of metal they have to burn in their kiln. Incineration or Landfill are your options.
Non-RCRA Materials – this is also a very broad category, but generally consist of non-metal materials that a non-RCRA incinerator can provide ultimate destruction at an affordable price.
Triumvirate Environmental works with many medical device companies and has done the research and due diligence on each of their wastestreams and the appropriate disposal facilities. Contact us today to assist with this task!