Medical waste rules in Newport News, VA
Virginia's Regulated Medical Waste Management Regulations, 9VAC20-121, are administered by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) through the Virginia Waste Management Board. They split generators at 250 gallons of regulated medical waste a month and set a pickup rhythm for each side of that line, which is unusual: most states set only a maximum storage time.
- What counts (9VAC20-121-90): cultures and stocks, human blood and body fluids and items contaminated with them (including gelled blood), pathological and anatomical waste, contaminated sharps (including veterinary and acupuncture sharps and household sharps from drop boxes), infected animal waste, Category A waste, spill residues and anything mixed with or packaged as regulated medical waste.
- Packaging and labeling (9VAC20-121-110): red bags meeting OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030 for everything except sharps, which go directly into puncture-resistant containers filled no higher than the fill line. Closed packages are never reopened. Every package carries the generator's name, address and telephone number, the words Regulated Medical Waste, Biohazard or Infectious Waste in large print, and the universal biohazard symbol; hospitals also name the department. Before transport, packaging follows 49 CFR Part 173. The generator stays responsible for packaging even when a contractor does it.
- Storage and pickup frequency (9VAC20-121-120): a generator of less than 250 gallons a month has all regulated medical waste removed at least once a calendar month, stores none of it for more than 45 calendar days and never holds more than 250 gallons at once. A generator of 250 gallons or more a month has weekly removal and a 10-day limit, and must store on impermeable, cleanable floors with signage and sanitary-sewer drains. Loading docks may hold packaged waste for no more than 24 hours.
- Transport (9VAC20-121-150): Virginia does not permit transporters; shipments follow the US DOT hazardous materials rules for shipping papers, packaging, marking and placarding (49 CFR Parts 171 to 180), vehicles carry a spill kit, and a vehicle parked for 24 hours or more counts as a transfer station needing a permit.
- Records (9VAC20-121-100 I): copies of every shipping paper, with the date, the amount removed and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the transporter and destination facility, kept for at least three years and available to the DEQ on request.
- On-site treatment needs a permit (9VAC20-121-120 E); no more than 25% of what is stored each month may come from off site, so a practice cannot informally collect for its neighbours.
Source: Virginia DEQ, 9VAC20-121-120, Storage of regulated medical waste (Virginia Administrative Code, Regulated Medical Waste Management Regulations).
Reviewed September 2026.
General information, not legal advice. Requirements change; we confirm what applies to your facility during onboarding.Virginia overviewAll states