Sample (and simple) Waste Management Plan for Veterinarians

Note, this is a rough draft of a waste management plan for a fictional veterinarian’s office.

Purpose

This waste management plan describes the nature and amount of waste generated at Sunbury Veterinary Services and shows estimates of future generation rates and how waste is handled.

Contacts

Sunbury Veterinary Services (aka “the practice” and “the business”) is a limited liability company incorporated in the state of State. Owners are Peter K. Watson and Melinda G. Sawbones. The business was founded in 2002 to provide verterinary services to people in the Anytown area.

Questions or concerns about waste management can be directed to
Dr. Peter Watson
310-555-1212 (office)
310-555-1234 (emergency, 24 hours)

Location and Scope of Activities

Sunbury is located at 1223 Main St, Anytown, US in the Fairview Shopping Center. It was established in 2002 to serve pet owners in the Anytown area. Sunbury employs veterinarians and veterinary assistants and technicians for care of animals.

In 2022 we employed full-time and part-time employees. The average number of employees at any time was 8.

Unique animals seen:

Dogs - 1200
Cats - 550
Birds - 90
Other - 45

Primary reason for visit:

Preventative Care (checkup) - 600
Treatment (one time) - 700
Treatment (ongoing) - 2100
Euthenasia - 400

Hazardous Materials Stored on Site

Phenobarbital solution for euthanizing animals (maximum of 20 lb at any time)
Topical analgesic (maximum of 50 lb at any time)
Systemic analgesic (maximum of 30 lb at any time)
Scissors (several pair)
Scalpels (maximum of three on site)

Types of Waste and Generation Rates

Municipal solid waste (MWS) - waste produced in routine office operation. This is mostly paper and plastic packaging and food service items. It is taken to the dumpster run by Fairview shopping center. As part of our rental agreement we are allowed to dispose of unregulated solid waste in this dumpster. Estimated generation rate: 3500 lb/yr
Pathological waste (human) - none
Radioactive waste - 40 lb/yr
Hazardous waste (RCRA) - negligible
Biomedical (potentially infectious) waste - 900 lb/yr
Animal carcasses - 1600 lb/yr

Transport and Disposal Contractors

The following contractors transport and dispose of regulated medical waste, as follows:

ACME Med Waste Solutions
349 Birchfield
Fictionville, CA 99999
555-222-3333

We contract with them to visit our facility every two weeks and to remove accumulated regulated waste - i.e. all waste that is not municipal solid waste.

We put municipal solid waste into the facility dumpster operated by our landlord, Fairview Properties. They take it away. The cost is included in our rent.

Legacy waste

We keep no waste on site that is more than 2 months old.

Emergency equipment

We have a fire extinguisher in the office and a chemical spill kit for cleanup of materials. The spill kit is a 5-gallon bag kit from Grainer: https://www.grainger.com/category/safety/sorbents-spill-control-spill-containment/sorbents-spill-kits/universal-sorbents-spill-kits/universal-spill-kits?filters=webParentSkuKey&webParentSkuKey=WP12090511

Emergency procedures

We are a very small business that rarely has more than 12 people and 10 animals in our offices, and we do not deal with large quantities of hazardous materials so there is no special emergency plan for evacuation.

Storage

Municipal solid waste and biological waste are temporarily stored on site before removal for disposal. On occasion, radioactive waste is also on site. The MSW is kept in standard office waste containers until it is taken to the shopping center dumpster. Special containers are kept for radioactive waste and biological waste and carcasses. This waste does not remain in our facility for more than a month.

Treatment

No waste treatment occurs at the practice.

Records Management

Tracking documents and storage records pertaining to the generation and disposal of medical waste are maintained by the owners of the business.

All tracking documents and treatment records are maintained for at least three years.

Training

When employees start at the office, they are given a walk-through and explanation of where waste is stored and the potential hazards of materials on site.

Once per year there is an office-wide refresher briefing about safety and security, Employees are reminded of waste management issues.

Certification

I hereby certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief, the contents of this Medical Waste Management Plan are complete and accurate.

Peter Watson
Owner and Manager, Sunbury

Malsparo