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University of Washington › Facilities Services › Building Services › UW Recycling
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Biomedical Waste

UW Recycling is responsible for:

  • Developing and maintaining disposal contracts for sharps waste, infectious waste, and treated infectious waste
  • All communication with the contracted vendor
  • Maintaining current waste characterization profile forms with Public Health–Seattle and King County

Biomedical waste includes infectious waste and items contaminated with infectious material. Disposal protocols vary by location, as explained below.

Magnuson Health Sciences Building

See the Health Sciences Laboratory Services page for autoclaving and disposal information and the Environmental Health & Safety Biohazardous Waste page for the waste flow chart for the Health Sciences Building (at bottom of page). For more information on sharps and lab glass, refer to the EH&S Sharps and Laboratory Glass page. All sharps, including non-infectious sharps, must be disposed of according to the flow chart. If you have questions, contact Environmental Health & Safety.

To dispose of biomedical waste through Stericycle, you must have an active account. If you do not have an account, fill out the New Biomedical Waste Account Request Form. After UW Recycling has set up an account for you, pickups of your waste can begin. If you have an active Stericycle account and need pickup of biomedical waste, fill out the Biomedical Waste Pickup Request Form.

Main Campus and Leased Facilities

See the Environmental Health & Safety Biohazardous Waste page for information on biomedical waste and the stream flow chart (at bottom of page). For more information on sharps and lab glass, refer to the EH&S Sharps and Laboratory Glass page. All sharps, including non-infectious sharps, must be disposed of according to the flow chart. If you have questions, contact Environmental Health & Safety.

To dispose of biomedical waste through Stericycle, you must have an active account. If you do not have an account, please fill out the New Biomedical Waste Account Request Form. After UW Recycling has set up an account for you, pickups of your waste can begin. If you have an active Stericycle account and need pickup of biomedical waste, fill out the Biomedical Waste Pickup Request Form.

Additional Information

For other locations, including UWMC, Harborview, and WaNPRC, see the Environmental Health & Safety Biohazardous Waste page for information and stream flow charts (at bottom of page). If you have questions, contact Environmental Health & Safety.

Any other handling and disposal of treated sharps must be approved in writing by the UW Infectious Waste Committee and Public Health–Seattle and King County.

If you have questions about these procedures, email Biomedical Waste or call the Biomedical Waste Information Line at 206-685-8275.