NR 526.16 NoteNote: Medical waste does not mean all of the waste produced in a medical setting. Waste materials from a medical setting which do not meet the definition of “infectious waste” in statutes are considered to be “medical waste” only if the generator mixes them with infectious waste or manages them as though they are infectious waste.

NR 526.16(2)(2) Exemptions. Directors of all medical facilities are encouraged to audit their waste management practices and to reduce medical waste whenever possible. The following directors of medical facilities are exempt from the requirements of this subchapter, provided they keep records of the amount of medical waste generated in order to verify whether or not they are exempt from the requirements of this subchapter and they retain the records for 5 years:

NR 526.16(2)(a)(a) Directors of medical facilities which generate less than 50 pounds of medical waste per calendar month, regardless of where the waste is treated.

NR 526.16(2)(b)(b) Directors of medical facilities which generate more than 50 pounds of medical waste during only one calendar month of a calendar year, regardless of where the waste is treated, and which average less than 50 pounds of medical waste per month for the same calendar year.

NR 526.17NR 526.17 Medical waste reduction policy. Except as provided in s. NR 526.16 (2), each director shall adopt a written medical waste reduction policy which commits the medical facility to the process of reducing the amount of medical waste generated at the source. A group of directors may work together to develop a policy which each individual director will subsequently adopt. The director shall review and update the medical waste reduction policy as necessary or at least every 5 years. The medical waste reduction policy shall, at a minimum, commit the medical facility to the process of waste reduction, which consists of all of the following:

NR 526.17(1)(1) Auditing current practices for managing solid waste generated by the medical facility and repeating the waste audit as necessary, according to s. NR 526.18.

NR 526.17(4)(4) Assessing the medical waste reduction plan and the progress toward goals annually, according to s. NR 526.20 (2), and submitting progress reports to the department, according to s. NR 526.21.

NR 526.18NR 526.18 Waste audit. Before completing or updating the medical waste reduction plan required in s. NR 526.19, each director or director’s designee shall audit the medical facility’s current solid waste management practices. Each director or director’s designee shall repeat the audit at least every 5 years for the whole medical facility or more frequently for any part of the facility where there has been a significant change in solid waste characteristics or amounts of solid waste due to major remodeling, expansion of service or other factors. Each director or director’s designee shall keep a copy of the results of the initial audit and all subsequent audits at the medical facility. The department may review these records upon request. The waste audit shall address all of the following:

NR 526.18(2)(2) Waste types. The waste audit shall identify the types of waste that are generated within each source area. It is not necessary to determine how much of each waste type is generated in each source area. The waste types are: medical waste, including infectious waste items listed in s. NR 526.05 and items which are either being mixed with infectious waste or handled as infectious waste; hazardous waste, including but not limited to hazardous chemotherapy waste; radioactive waste; trace chemotherapy waste; recyclable materials; wastes which may have to be managed separately because they are any combination of infectious, hazardous or radioactive waste; and other solid waste.

NR 526.18 NoteNote: Infectious waste which is also hazardous may also be regulated by the department under hazardous waste rules. See chs. NR 660 to 670 and s. NR 526.11 (2) (f). Infectious waste which is also radioactive is regulated by the department of health services under ch. DHS 157 and the federal government under Title 10 CFR until no longer regulated as radioactive material, as provided in s. NR 526.02 (6).

NR 526.18(3)(3) Quantity of medical waste. The waste audit shall identify how many pounds of medical waste the medical facility, as a whole, generated during the previous 12 months.

NR 526.18(4)(4) Medical waste generation rate. The waste audit shall identify the rate at which the medical facility generated medical waste during the 12 months covered by the audit. The waste generation rate shall be calculated according to the appropriate formula in s. NR 526.21 (1).

NR 526.18(5)(5) Waste management practices. The waste audit shall identify how medical waste is collected, stored, transported and treated from the point of generation to the point of final disposal, including any medical waste discharged to a publicly-owned wastewater treatment system. The audit shall identify how non-infectious waste is prevented from being mixed with infectious waste. The audit shall include any waste types that are currently mixed with or may be mixed with infectious waste. The audit may also identify waste management practices for waste types that are not mixed with medical waste.

NR 526.19NR 526.19 Medical waste reduction plan.

NR 526.19(1)(1) General provisions. Unless exempt under s. NR 526.16 (2), each director or director’s designee shall prepare a medical waste reduction plan for separating, reducing and managing the medical waste generated, for evaluating alternatives to disposable products and for maintaining waste reduction efforts. The director or director’s designee shall do all of the following when preparing the medical waste reduction plan:

NR 526.19(1)(c)(c) Keep a copy of the most recent medical waste reduction plan and make it available for the department to review upon request according to s. NR 526.22 (2). The department may require the director to submit a copy of the plan and related materials to the department for its review and approval. The department may approve the plan with conditions, including but not limited to specifying goals, objectives and schedules.

NR 526.19(1)(d)1.1. Waste reduction, including but not limited to: reducing the amount of packaging and the use of disposable items, substituting other products and materials, changing or modifying equipment, changing purchasing policies or procedures, changing housekeeping practices, providing more effective ways to separate infectious wastes from all other waste types, and selling or donating unused items and equipment to others.

NR 526.19(1)(d)2.2. Reuse by appropriate reprocessing, including but not limited to: sterilizing, disinfecting, decontaminating, laundering, recharging, exchanging waste or equipment with others, and selling or donating reprocessed items or equipment to others.