Hospitals, clinics, senior living and labs make the same everyday trash and cardboard as any large building, plus renovation debris from projects that never really stop. We arrange the general waste, recycling, construction debris and crew facilities from local providers in the markets we serve. Regulated medical waste is handled by licensed medical waste providers; we do not arrange it.
Where we start and stop
A healthcare campus runs two kinds of waste side by side. EPA describes medical waste as a subset of the waste from health care facilities that may be contaminated by blood, body fluids or other potentially infectious materials, and says it is primarily regulated by state environmental and health departments.1 That stream stays with your licensed medical waste provider. The rest of the building's waste is where we come in.
What we arrange
Sourced from local providers, on one agreement and one invoice.
Stays with licensed specialists
Handled by licensed medical waste providers. We do not arrange it.
None of these belong in a dumpster, compactor or roll-off we arrange. Keep them out of the general waste stream and with the provider your facility already uses.
The services
Local providers do the work; we hold the contract, own the problems, and send one bill. Availability varies by market.
| Need | What to ask for | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday trash | Front-load containers or a compactor, picked up on a schedule | Commercial dumpsters and compactors |
| Cardboard from deliveries | A baler or a dedicated cardboard container at the dock | Baler vs compactor |
| Dock compactor | Compactor hauls, and a backup roll-off while a broken machine is repaired | Compactors and balers |
| The enclosure | Containers that fit the screened enclosure and the fire code distance from the building | Enclosure requirements |
| Renovation debris | Roll-offs with swaps tied to the project schedule | Dumpster rental |
| Upper floor work | An enclosed debris chute into the container | Trash chutes |
| Crew facilities | Portable restrooms and hand wash stations for the contractor's crew | Portable toilets |
| A plumbing outage | A restroom trailer with sinks and flushing toilets | Emergency restrooms |
Reporting on sustainability? Ask us for waste data by site for the containers and compactors we arrange: tons by stream, tons diverted and tons landfilled, from hauler and facility tickets. See ESG waste reporting.
By area
General guidance on where each kind of service usually sits. Your facility's layout, your local code and your own policies decide the details.
| Area | Typical need | Worth asking about |
|---|---|---|
| Loading dock | A compactor for trash and a baler or container for cardboard | What happens when the compactor is down |
| Enclosure | Front-load containers for trash and recycling | Pickup days that keep lids closing and the pad clear |
| Renovation wing | Roll-offs, a chute on upper floors, swaps on a schedule | Delivery routes and hours your project team sets |
| Construction staging | Crew restrooms, hand wash stations, fencing and storage | Placement away from patient and visitor paths |
| Clinics and outpatient sites | A smaller front-load container or carts | Several sites on one agreement and one invoice |
| Patient care areas | Regulated medical waste, sharps and pharmaceutical waste | Your licensed medical waste provider, not us |
A container that overflows between pickups is where odor starts. Match pickup days to how fast the container fills, and add a pickup before it overflows.
Lids that will not close and bags left beside the container draw pests. The fix is usually more capacity or more pickups, not a bigger pad.
Boxes in the trash container fill it fast. A baler or a cardboard container frees up room and gives you a recycling stream to report.
Call us about a missed pickup or a full container, and we contact the local provider. Ask us how pickups are scheduled in your market.
Send the site list and what each uses today. We source local providers and put the general waste and recycling on one agreement and one invoice.
Renovation on a live campus
Renovation inside an operating facility runs under the owner's infection control plan and the contractor's site logistics plan. Those plans are yours and your contractor's. We arrange the containers, restrooms and fencing they call for.
Send the parts of the plan that touch site services: where containers can sit, the delivery route, the hours trucks can come and any barriers.
Roll-offs sized to the debris, with a chute on upper floors so material is not carried through occupied space.
Portable restrooms and hand wash stations in the staging area, so the crew is not using the building's restrooms.
Call us to schedule a swap when a container is full, within the hours the plan allows.
For the planning documents themselves, see the site logistics plan template and the construction waste management plan guide.
The rules
Three sets of rules come up most. Read them for your facility, and check which edition your state or city has adopted.
U.S. EPA
EPA calls medical waste a subset of the waste from health care facilities, such as hospitals, doctors' offices, dental practices, blood banks, veterinary clinics and research labs. It says medical waste is primarily regulated by state environmental and health departments.1
IFC 2024, 304.3.5
Dumpsters and containers of 1.5 cubic yards or more cannot be stored in buildings or placed within 5 feet of combustible walls, openings or combustible roof eave lines, with exceptions for sprinkler protected areas and dedicated noncombustible structures.2 See enclosure requirements.
29 CFR 1926.51(c)
On construction work, the minimum is one toilet for 20 employees or less, then one toilet seat and one urinal per 40 workers at 20 or more.3 See the OSHA portable toilet guide.
29 CFR 1926.51(f)
Washing facilities are required for crews applying paints, coatings, herbicides or insecticides, or in other operations where contaminants may be harmful, in near proximity to the worksite.3 See hand wash stations.
How it works with Detritus
You get one point of contact. A local provider delivers, services and removes the equipment.
Each address, what it uses today, and any project with its dates.
A provider in each market for the containers, compactor hauls, roll-offs and crew facilities. Availability varies by market.
Containers and units are set where your plan puts them.
Pickups run on schedule, swaps when you call, and project equipment is removed when the work is done.
Charges by site on one invoice, which can be split by entity, region or cost center.
For a quote
The more of this we have on the first call, the faster the quote.
Common questions
No. Regulated medical waste is handled by licensed medical waste providers; we do not arrange it. The same goes for sharps and pharmaceutical waste. We arrange general trash, recycling and construction debris.
EPA describes medical waste as a subset of the waste from health care facilities that may be contaminated by blood, body fluids or other potentially infectious materials. It says medical waste is primarily regulated by state environmental and health departments.
Usually everyday trash on a schedule, cardboard handled by a baler or a container, roll-offs for renovation projects, and restrooms and hand wash stations for construction crews.
No. Infection control is the owner's plan, carried out with the contractor. We arrange the containers, restrooms and fencing the plan calls for and schedule delivery and swaps around it.
Usually with service frequency: pickups often enough that lids close and nothing sits beside the container, and cardboard moved to its own baler or container.
Call sales at (888) 588-2607 or request a quote with the addresses, what each site uses today and any project dates.
Local providers do the work. We source them, keep the service record and send one invoice. Medical waste stays with your licensed provider.
Read next
Sources