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Every year, an estimated six million tons of medical waste is produced in the U.S. The sheer volume of waste, combined with strict laws and regulations that surround its discard, underscores why many hospitals and healthcare facilities outsource medical waste management services.
To put this in perspective, it’s estimated that revenues in the medical waste disposal services market reached $1.8 billion in 2024.
Partnering with a medical waste company is a meaningful first step for healthcare operational leaders. Providers are able to turn their attention to focusing on quality care while supporting the safe and effective management of medical waste disposal.
But the decision also prompts the question of where to start your medical waste company search. With hundreds of companies to choose from, we’ve put together a helpful guide to help you quickly and effectively find the right solution.
Strategies for Researching Medical Waste Companies Online
Online searches are an ideal place to start your process of finding a medical waste disposal company. Typing in search phrases like “medical waste disposal company” or “top medical waste companies” will help you generate a baseline list of providers to evaluate.
Browsing online directories is another avenue to take. State regulatory agency websites can include directories of licensed waste disposal companies that operate in your area. Industry associations may also have resources to find qualified disposal companies.
Social media platforms can also be a valuable resource. On LinkedIn, for instance, you can join relevant industry groups like the Medical Waste Advisory Group. Here, you can source recommendations and insights from other healthcare professionals on disposal companies.
In their search for medical waste disposal services, healthcare providers often prioritize hyper-local companies. While this approach is rooted in convenience and proximity — and makes sense on paper — there are some reasons it may not be the optimal route.
Local companies don’t always have the infrastructure to dispose of medical waste in a clean, efficient manner. Alongside potential limitations in transportation capabilities and storage facilities, they may lack access to advanced sterilization technologies like ozone treatment. Ozone treatment not only helps sterilize medical waste materials in a short time frame, but it also provides a more sustainable option compared to incineration.
Consider this: incinerating medical waste uses large amounts of power, results in ash and metal residue, and emits a total of 913.81 greenhouse gas emissions per ton. Ozonation of medical waste uses less power, results in no final waste streams, and emits only 654.77 greenhouse gas emissions per ton.
Beyond these sustainable metrics, local waste disposal companies can sometimes operate with limited staff and financial resources. When this happens, there’ss less room to invest in compliance training as relates to industry regulations and best practices for handling hazardous waste. It also means that, if a provider’s waste volume or disposal frequency changes, local companies could find it more difficult to scale their operations to meet demand.
While medical waste volumes have increased over the years, the COVID-19 pandemic provided a particularly unexpected surge. According to Maggie Montgomery, an officer with the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 “increased healthcare waste loads in facilities to up to 10 times.” Environmental and management concerns sparked conversation on how to treat and dispose of medical waste in a greener, cleaner way.
With these factors in mind, there’s good reason to consider other avenues for medical waste disposal — specifically national companies or in-house medical waste services.
National providers generally have years of experience efficiently and safely handling various kinds of medical waste — with the technologies, infrastructure, and training to support sustainable efforts. And with more locations and resources, national medical waste disposal companies are better equipped to offer flexible scheduling options and ramp up services where needed.
In-house services, meanwhile, give hospitals and other healthcare facilities direct control over their medical waste management process. This oversight, from how waste is collected to how it’s discarded, gives providers peace of mind that their waste management process is compliant and built for sustainability.
At WasteMedX, we prove that it’s easy to be green when it comes to medical waste disposal. Leveraging ozone treatment technology, our easy-to-use system helps healthcare industry providers cut costs, lower emissions, reduce waste, and mitigate safety hazards. It’s energy-efficient, regulated medical waste disposal.
While providers gain more visibility and control over their medical waste management, our comprehensive service offerings support our system’s use. You can lean on us to schedule all your waste pickups and disposals and electronically monitor them, as well as provide you with the employees and vehicles to process medical waste. We also make your life easier by offering preventive system maintenance and on-call service.
Want to learn more about how we can meet your sustainability goals? Contact us today.
