Medical waste rules in Missouri
Missouri regulates infectious waste through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) under 10 CSR 80-7.010, with the Department of Health and Senior Services defining what small quantity generators must treat as infectious (19 CSR 20-20.010) and setting hospital rules (19 CSR 30-20.021). The dividing line is 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) a month.
- Small quantity generators (10 CSR 80-7.010(1)(A)2; 19 CSR 20-20.010(21)): at 100 kg a month or less, the infectious waste a practice must manage is discarded sharps, cultures and stocks of infectious organisms with their culture dishes and transfer devices, and any other waste the responsible medical authority designates as capable of producing an infectious disease.
- Packaging (10 CSR 80-7.010(2)): before transport, infectious waste goes in rigid or semi-rigid, leak-resistant containers, sealed, marked with the universal biohazard symbol and labeled Infectious Waste or Biohazard Waste. Plastic bags are never the primary container for transport and go inside a rigid container; sharps go in rigid, leak-resistant, puncture-resistant sealed containers. Containers meeting OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030 are acceptable.
- Tracking documents (10 CSR 80-7.010(3)): the generator prepares a tracking document naming itself, the designated permitted processing facility (and an alternate), the transporter with its Missouri transporter identification number and the quantity, signs it, obtains the transporter's signature and keeps a copy. The processing facility returns the completed document within 35 days of the transporter accepting the waste.
- Transport (10 CSR 80-7.010(4)): untreated infectious waste leaves the site only with a transporter licensed by the DNR under 10 CSR 25-6.263, in a closed and secured vehicle, to a permitted infectious waste processing facility, a hospital operating under the hospital exemption or an out-of-state facility. A generator of 100 kg a month or less may carry its own waste in a closed, secured vehicle without a transporter license or the $2-per-ton fee; sharps may also travel by US Postal Service under 39 CFR 111.
- Treatment and disposal (10 CSR 80-7.010(1)(B), (5)): permitted facilities treat by incineration or steam sterilisation. Waste treated on site to render it innocuous may go out as solid waste with a written certification to the hauler and landfill describing the waste and the treatment method; sharps stay in rigid, puncture-resistant containers even after treatment unless shredded.
- Storage: the rule's 24-hour unrefrigerated and 72-hour refrigerated limits apply to processing facilities, not generators. Generators keep waste sealed, labeled and secure; hospital storage is governed by 19 CSR 30-20.021.
Source: Missouri DNR, 10 CSR 80-7.010, Infectious Waste Management.
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