Medical Waste Disposal in Colorado

Clean Waste Medical coordinates compliant regulated medical waste, sharps and pharmaceutical waste pickup for healthcare facilities across Colorado. Scheduled or on-call service, compliant containers and a manifest for every collection.

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Medical waste rules in Colorado

Colorado regulates medical waste through the Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) under Section 13 of the Solid Waste Regulations, 6 CCR 1007-2, Part 1 (materials referenced as of November 16, 2021). Generators do not register, but each must keep a written medical waste management plan and stay inside the accumulation limits that keep it out of the permit system.

  • Scope (Section 13.1): every non-household generator, transporter and treatment, storage or disposal facility handling non-hazardous medical waste, a term that covers infectious waste, trace chemotherapy waste and waste pharmaceuticals. Hazardous waste pharmaceuticals follow 6 CCR 1007-3 instead, and controlled substances follow US DEA rules (Section 13.9.3).
  • Management plan (Section 13.4): each facility names an employee responsible for the plan, which identifies the types of medical waste and where they are generated, describes how each is identified, segregated, packaged, stored, treated, transported and disposed of, includes a spill contingency plan and the training given to employees, is kept on site for the regulator, the transporter and the disposal facility, and is updated whenever handling changes.
  • Accumulation limits (Section 13.3.1 A): a generator storing its own waste needs no Certificate of Designation if putrescible medical waste, packaged to US DOT standards (49 CFR 173.196 or 173.197), is held for no more than 30 calendar days unrefrigerated or 90 days refrigerated at 45°F or below or frozen, and non-putrescible waste such as sharps containers, waste pharmaceutical containers and trace chemotherapy waste is held no more than 90 days in closed, secured containers. Exceeding those limits turns the practice into a storage facility that needs a certificate.
  • General provisions (Section 13.2): no nuisance conditions; waste that causes them is refrigerated, frozen, treated or disposed of at once; no compaction of infectious waste before treatment; all records kept on site for three years in a retrievable form.
  • Treatment (Section 13.6): thermal, chemical, irradiation or other approved methods that achieve at least a 4 log reduction of Bacillus spores and 6 log of Mycobacterium; encapsulation, solidification or compaction alone are not treatment. Trace chemotherapy waste and waste pharmaceuticals are incinerated, encapsulated or stabilised, or sent to a reverse distributor.
  • Transport and disposal (Sections 13.9, 13.10): untreated medical waste goes only to an approved commercial storage, treatment or disposal facility; Colorado does not license medical waste transporters, and shipments follow the US DOT rules. Spills in transit are reported to CDPHE within 24 hours with a written report in 15 days. Treated infectious waste may go to a landfill or, for liquids, a secondary-treatment sewer with the utility's approval, provided it is identified as treated. Recognisable human anatomical remains are interred, cremated or incinerated.

Source: CDPHE, 6 CCR 1007-2, Part 1, Section 13, Medical Waste (Colorado Solid Waste Regulations).

Reviewed September 2026.

This summary is general information, not legal advice. Requirements change; we confirm what applies to your facility during onboarding.Regulations by state

Services in Colorado

  1. Regulated Medical Waste and Biohazard Waste DisposalScheduled or on-call pickup of regulated medical waste, also called biohazard or red bag waste, from healthcare facilities: compliant containers, permitted transport and a manifest for every collection.Red bag, cardboard box
  2. Sharps Waste DisposalSharps container supply, exchange and disposal for practices of every size, from a single dental office to a hospital network.Red sharps container
  3. Pharmaceutical Waste DisposalCompliant collection and disposal of expired, unused and partially used non-hazardous pharmaceuticals, with the right stream for each drug.Blue container
  4. Trace Chemotherapy Waste DisposalYellow-container collection for trace chemotherapy waste from oncology, infusion and specialty practices.Yellow container
  5. RCRA Hazardous Pharmaceutical WasteBlack-container programs for RCRA-listed and characteristic hazardous pharmaceutical waste, with generator-status guidance and cradle-to-grave documentation.Black container
  6. Pathological Waste DisposalDedicated, labeled collection for tissues, organs and surgical specimens from surgery centers, labs, dermatology practices and veterinary clinics.Red bag, pathology label

Facilities we serve in Colorado

All facility types

Colorado service questions

Do you serve every part of Colorado?

We coordinate service through a network of qualified providers, and coverage in Colorado is confirmed address by address. Tell us your address and operations confirms whether a route is available before anything is promised.

Which rules apply to medical waste in Colorado?

Medical waste is regulated at the state level, alongside the federal OSHA, DOT and EPA rules that apply everywhere. The summary above covers the Colorado requirements that most affect small and mid-size generators. See our regulations guide for the federal picture and links to every state.

What waste streams can you pick up in Colorado?

Regulated (biohazardous) medical waste, sharps, pharmaceutical waste, trace chemotherapy waste, RCRA hazardous pharmaceutical waste and pathological waste, subject to verification of each stream at onboarding.

We are under contract. Can we still talk?

Of course. Most facilities are. Share your renewal date and we will follow up before it, so you can compare options without being rushed.

Medical waste pickup in Colorado

Send us your facility list and current schedule. We reply with a clear quote and a start date operations has confirmed.

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