Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that works by blocking nerve signals in the body and is commonly used by medical practitioners for a variety of procedures.  While it is considered a pharmaceutical, is lidocaine a hazardous waste?

Here’s what you missed on the Red Bags blog this month. Sharps Waste for Pets: How to Dispose of Sharps Safely Pet owners with diabetic cats or dogs give daily injections. They accumulate used needles and syringes quickly and should not just toss them in the trash, which can put other people at risk. According…

If you take daily medication, those orange prescription bottles can pile up quickly. There are many options for recycling your pill containers, but did you know that even empty containers can still pose as a hazard? The bottle may be empty, but there’s still medication in it. We usually don’t pay attention to those medicine…

Some (but not all) pharmaceutical waste must be treated as hazardous waste. Here is one difference and how to dispose of non-hazardous, non-DEA pharmaceutical waste. All businesses and institutions that generate pharmaceutical waste are responsible for disposing of that waste according to state and federal law. Given the wide variety of pharmaceutical wastes, complying with…

Packaging and transportation are part of medical waste regulation. Proper documentation is required for both. How long do you need to retain medical waste manifests? Medical waste cannot be tossed in the regular trash, nor can it be transported by your municipal waste management company.  Infectious waste must be transported in rigid containers that have…

Medical waste is a subset of wastes generated at health care facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, as well as medical research facilities and laboratories. Here’s what you need to know about laboratory medical waste. Hospital, medical reference, and research laboratories all produce hazardous laboratory waste. Red Bags covers many industries that produce regulated medical waste…