2023 New York Laws › PBH - Public Health › Article 13 - Nuisances and Sanitation › Title 13 - Storage, Treatment and Disposal of Regulated Medical Waste › 1389-DD - Treatment and Disposal of Regulated Medical Waste.

§  1389-dd.  Treatment  and  disposal of regulated medical waste.   1.
Treatment or disposal of regulated medical waste shall be by one of  the
following methods:
(a) By incineration in a regulated medical waste incineration facility
approved   and   under  permit  pursuant  to  article  nineteen  of  the
environmental conservation law, which provides  complete  combustion  of
the  waste to carbonized or mineralized ash.  Regulated medical waste so
combusted shall be disposable as nonhazardous waste provided it  is  not
an  otherwise  hazardous waste as defined in the regulations promulgated
under section 27-0903 of the environmental conservation law.
(b) By discharge  to  sewerage  system  if  the  waste  is  liquid  or
semiliquid,  except  as  specifically  prohibited by the commissioner of
health.
(c) By decontamination by autoclaving, or by other technique  approved
by  the  department, so as to render the waste noninfectious.  Regulated
medical waste so treated shall be disposed of as solid waste provided it
does not otherwise meet the definition of hazardous waste as defined  in
the  regulations  promulgated under section 27-0903 of the environmental
conservation law or  the  regulations  promulgated  thereunder,  and  is
accompanied  by a certificate, in a form prescribed by the commissioner,
which evidences such treatment.
(d) By other method approved by the commissioner.
2. Regulated medical waste shall not be disposed of  by  burial  at  a
landfill   disposal   facility,   unless   treated  in  accordance  with
subdivision  one  of  this  section.  All  sharps   must   be   rendered
unrecognizable prior to disposal.
3.   The  commissioner,  in  consultation  with  the  commissioner  of
environmental  conservation,  shall  develop   a   limited   number   of
cooperative  pilot  projects to promote the safe handling, treatment and
disposal of regulated medical waste  generated  in  private  residences,
including  the  establishment  of  guidelines  for  safe  transport  and
handling of such waste prior to disposal. Such pilot projects  shall  be
limited  to  a  maximum of four municipalities throughout the state, and
may vary in  scope  from  single-facility  to  multi-facility  projects.
Nothing  in  this  subdivision  shall  be  construed as imposing any new
requirements on generators of regulated medical waste. The  commissioner
shall  give due consideration to the experience of the pilot projects in
developing rules and regulations authorized in subdivision four of  this
section.   Any moneys allocated by any government or organization to the
department of health or the department of environmental conservation for
purposes of establishing such pilot projects are hereby  authorized  for
appropriation pursuant to this subdivision.
4. Sharps, including needles, syringes and lancets, originating from a
private  residence, may be delivered for disposal to a general hospital,
as defined in subdivision ten of section  twenty-eight  hundred  one  of
this  chapter,  or  a  residential  health  care facility, as defined in
subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred one of  this  chapter.
Sharps,  including  needles,  syringes  and lancets returned pursuant to
this section must be accepted by the hospital or residential health care
facility on the condition that the needles, syringes  and  lancets  have
been deposited in an approved puncture proof container by the generator.
The   hospital  or  residential  health  care  facility  receiving  such
contained sharps must dispose of sharps in accordance with this section.
The commissioner shall promulgate  rules  and  regulations  establishing
guidelines for safe transport and handling of such sharps, including the
approval of puncture proof containers for sharps.