FAQ
MED-FLEX is licensed to transport medical waste in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware & Maryland.
MED-FLEX services all of New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania. Please refer to our Service Area tab on the About page for a more accurate description of our service area.
Regulated medical waste
Infectious waste
Red bag waste
Sharps waste
Chemotherapy waste
Pathological waste
Animal waste
Amalgam waste
Overclassified waste
Non-hazardous pharmaceutical waste
Small, medium and large facilities
Animal orphanages
Allergists
Assisted living homes
Blood banks
Casinos
Clinics
Dentist offices
Diagnostic centers
Dialysis centers
Doctors
Endo centers
Funeral homes
Government agencies
Health departments
Hematologist / Oncologist
Hospitals
Hospital satellite facilities
Imaging centers
Laboratories
Nursing homes
OB/GYN offices
Oral surgeon offices
Outpatient surgery centers
Pediatrician offices
Pharmaceutical manufacturers
Physician offices
Prisons / Correctional facilities
Radiology facilities
Schools and Colleges
Tattoo parlors
Testing centers
Urologist offices
Veterinary offices
MED-FLEX utilizes State approved incineration and autoclave treatment technologies for the treatment and disposal of all waste types.
Regulated medical waste is defined as any solid waste that is generated in the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of biologicals. It does not include hazardous or radioactive waste.
Chemotherapy waste is any waste that is contaminated through contact with or has previously contained chemotherapeutic agents. In order to be considered “Trace” chemotherapy waste, the item must be “RCRA” empty, meaning it contains less than 3% by weight of the original quantity of the hazardous drug. Any amounts over 3% is considered “Bulk” chemotherapy waste and must be treated and disposed of as hazardous waste. MED-FLEX does not handle hazardous or bulk chemotherapy waste.
Pathological waste is tissue, organs, body parts and body fluids that are removed during surgery, autopsy or other medical procedures as well as specimens of body fluids and their containers.
Dental amalgam is the silver-colored material used to fill and restore teeth that have cavities. It is made up of two nearly equal parts of liquid mercury and a powder containing silver, tin, copper, zinc and other materials. Liquid mercury is a hazardous material and must either be recycled or properly disposed of as hazardous waste.
Overclassified waste is waste that is not managed or defined as regulated medical waste, chemotherapy or pathological waste. This waste includes non-hazardous pharmaceutical waste and other types of waste that is not regulated, but warrants being disposed of in a secure and documented manner.
Pharmaceutical waste is any chemical waste product, vaccine or allergenic that does not contain a radioactive component and that is intended for use in the diagnosis, care, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease or injury in humans or animals. Pharmaceutical waste assigned a P or U waste code, or exhibiting characteristics of Corrosivity, Ignitability, Reactivity or Toxicity are considered hazardous waste and cannot be picked up by MED-FLEX. In addition, MED-FLEX cannot pick up any DEA or controlled pharmaceutical substances.
Yes, different types of waste (i.e. regulated medical waste, chemotherapy, pathological, non-hazardous pharmaceutical, amalgam and overclassified waste) must be placed into separate containers in order to accurately and properly manage and dispose of each type of waste.
This varies from State to State. In New Jersey, regulated medical waste must be picked up a minimum of once a year or more frequently if the waste becomes putrescent or causes a health hazard. In Pennsylvania, regulated medical waste must be picked up within 30 days of the container being full or the date the generator seals the container.
Daily
Three times per week
Twice per week
Once per week
Twice per month
Once per month
Every other month
Every three months
Every four months
Every six months
Once per year
Closed and tied red bag waste.
Close, locked and sealed disposable sharps containers.
Leak-proof container of liquid.
Red bag waste, including but not limited to: gauze, table paper, blood soaked items, bandages, intravenous bags, soft plastic items, gloves, gowns, petri dishes, empty plastic containers.
Chemotherapy, pathological and non-hazardous pharmaceutical waste must be placed in separate containers and must adhere to State and Federal regulations.
No hazardous, radioactive or DEA controlled pharmaceutical waste or substances
No chemical waste
No loose syringes or needles
No loose liquids in excess of 20cc
No loose sharp or pointy hard plastic items
No loose sharp or pointy metal items
No glass items
No compressed gas cylinders or containers under pressure
All needles, syringes and lancets
All sharp or pointy hard plastic items, pipettes, tubes and tips
All glassware items, glass tubes, vials, bottles, slides, vacutainers, etc.
All sharp or pointy metal items, scalpels, knives, razor blades, tweezers, scissors, etc.
Rule of thumb: If it can puncture the red bag, it needs to be placed in a sharps container.
Sharps containers should never be filled more than the manufacturer’s recommended fill level. If the manufacturer has not specified a fill level, then ¾ full is the recommended level to fill the sharps container before replacing.
All disposable or reusable sharps containers supplied by MED-FLEX meet or exceed OSHA and FDA requirements. If you purchase your sharps containers from a vendor other than MED-FLEX, you will have to check with them to verify that the containers meet OSHA, FDA, State and Federal requirements. The Federal Government states that all disposable and reusable sharps containers must be approved by the FDA. Coffee cans, milk jugs, soda bottles, detergent bottles, plastic bags, cardboard boxes and fiber drums are not approved sharps containers by the FDA and do not meet OSHA requirements and, therefore, will not be picked up by MED-FLEX.
Chair-side traps
Amalgam separators and filters
Contact amalgam
Empty amalgam capsules
Non-contact amalgam
Extracted teeth with amalgam fillings
No, MED-FLEX does not handle or pick up any hazardous or radioactive waste.
Medical waste must be stored in a manner and location that is accessible only to authorized employees. It must also maintain the integrity of the packaging while providing protection from the elements and wildlife. It must be easily accessible to the MED-FLEX driver at the time of pick up.
The typical turn-a-round time for the white copy of the tracking form is approximately 10 – 14 days after your pick up is done. Unless other arrangements have been made, we will send the white copy of the tracking form along with your invoice to the billing address. We also offer electronic document archiving on our website. Go to Customer Login and enter your account number and password and you can review and print any of your tracking forms since January 1, 2010. This is a free service.
Yes, the driver will be more than happy to take care of that for you. We understand time is a precious commodity. The driver will weigh your medical waste containers either in your office or in their truck in order to give you an accurate weight of your waste. Every MED-FLEX truck has a digital scale that is calibrated yearly.
Unfortunately, we are unable to do this because of time constraints of the route along with patient privacy regulations. After arriving at your site, drivers can wait for a few minutes while you gather up your medical waste. If the wait becomes excessive, the driver will have to leave and you will have to call the office to reschedule your pick up. We suggest that you have a centralized collection point where you put all of your medical waste prior to us arriving at your site so that there is as little inconvenience to your staff as possible.
As a new customer, when you sign up with us we will automatically email or fax your pick-up schedule to you for the current year. After the first year, you can go directly to Customer Login and enter your account number and password. You will then have an option to view, download or print your pick-up schedule.
If you do not need a pick up on your scheduled day, please call the office 24 hours prior to your pick-up date and let them know you need to cancel your pick up. As long as you call 24 hours ahead, you will not be charged a Non-Notification Fee. If we arrive at your site and you tell the driver you have no waste to be picked up or if your site is closed, a Non-Notification Fee will be charged to your account.
Yes, we can schedule an emergency or off-schedule pick up. If you can wait until the next time we are in your area, you will only be billed your contract price for the pick up. If we have to send a driver out to do the pick up off-route, an additional transportation fee along with your contract pricing will be billed to your account.
Yes, we offer both Online and On-Site OSHA, Bloodborne Pathogen and Compliance training. Please click on the Compliance Training tab on our website to get additional information.
Click on the Resources tab on our website. Click on the icon for “NJ DEP Generator Identification # Registration Form”. This will open up the Generator Identification registration form. Print this form out and answer all of the questions. If you need help completing this form, feel free to give us a call. Mail the completed form and your registration fee to the address listed on the last page of the instructions. This fee gets mailed to NJDEP, not MED-FLEX. We have nothing to do with the registration or fee. Once your application has been received and processed, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection will mail you an official letter listing your Generator Identification number.
Yes, you need to renew your Generator Identification number every year. The NJ DEP will mail you a report to fill out along with a registration renewal form. The registration renewal fee varies according to the amount of regulated medical waste you generate and list on your yearly report.