Medical waste rules in South Carolina
South Carolina's Infectious Waste Management Regulations, R.61-105, are administered by the Department of Environmental Services (SCDES, which took over the program from DHEC in 2024). Every in-state generator registers, the line between small and large quantity generators is 50 pounds in a calendar month, and the storage clock is 14 days unrefrigerated or 30 days cold.
- Registration (R.61-105 F(1) to (4); SCDES): all in-state generators register on the Department's form with the business, owner, site address, infectious waste coordinator, the categories and estimated annual pounds of waste, the treatment and disposal method and the EIN; each site registers separately, changes are reported within 30 days, and registration is renewed every three years. Small quantity generators (under 50 pounds a month) pay no fee; large quantity generators (50 pounds or more in any month) pay $150 a year and extra-large (1,000 pounds or more) $600, under R.61-30. A registration number is needed before a transporter will take the waste.
- Small quantity generators (R.61-105 G): sharps, microbiological cultures, products of conception and human blood and blood products are managed under the full rule (packaging, treatment, weight records); other infectious waste may be disposed of as solid waste once packaged to protect waste workers. A small quantity generator may haul its own waste, never more than 50 pounds at a time, in a marked, enclosed vehicle with a manifest. Producing 50 pounds or more in any month means notifying the Department and following the entire regulation; the small designation returns after 12 consecutive months under 50 pounds.
- Generator duties (R.61-105 F(5), (6)): large quantity generators keep an infection control committee and a written protocol from generation to transport; every generator segregates at the point of generation, packages and labels to Sections I and J, initiates a manifest, stores to Section K, uses only a Department-registered transporter (or the US Postal Service), and records the accurate weight of each shipment within 50 days.
- Packaging (R.61-105 I): sharps in rigid, leak-resistant, puncture-resistant, tightly secured containers; everything else in rigid or semi-rigid, moisture-impervious, leak-resistant containers with red or orange inner bags, sealed when full or putrescent, never compacted; roll-offs and trailer bodies do not count as containment.
- Storage (R.61-105 K): storage begins when the container is sealed. On-site storage may not exceed 14 days without refrigeration or 30 days at or below 42°F; once the waste leaves, it must reach a treatment facility within the same 14 or 30 days. Areas are secured, signed with the biohazard symbol, protected from weather and vermin, and outdoor storage is locked.
- Manifests, transport and records (R.61-105 M, N, AA): every off-site shipment travels with a manifest (DHEC Form 2116 or an approved equivalent) carrying the generator's identification number, container count, weight within 10%, the transporter's registration number and the generator's DOT, hazardous waste and radioactive certifications; the generator keeps a signed copy. Transporters register with the Department before operating. All records and manifest copies are kept in South Carolina for at least two years.
Source: SCDES, R.61-105, Infectious Waste Management 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