5 Things to Know About Medical Waste Brokers

Are you sure that the company you’ve hired to handle your medical waste actually disposes of it? If you’ve contracted with a medical waste broker, there’s a good chance that the company is, in fact, subcontracting the work out to other companies.

What Is a Medical Waste Broker?

A medical waste broker is essentially a middleman — you pay the broker for medical waste disposal services, and the broker then subcontracts a third-party company to do the actual work. As such, using a broker means that you don’t actually know who will dispose of your medical waste or whether they’re actually qualified to do so. Most waste brokers don’t own trucks or equipment, they may not be familiar with Arizona’s medical waste regulations, and they may not even be located or licensed here. In other words, working with a broker instead of a legitimate medical waste disposal company can be a gamble. Here are five reasons to think twice about working with a medical waste broker.

1. You may not know who’s picking up your waste and how qualified they are.

When you work with a waste broker, you might not know if the company that’s disposing of your waste is qualified to do the work. A reputable medical waste disposal company takes the guesswork out of using a broker. Medical waste regulations vary considerably from state to state, and if the broker isn’t licensed in Arizona, it may not know if the company it has subcontracted with is compliant or not. You also might not know if the subcontractor’s employees have been properly trained or if background checks have been conducted. And what about insurance? Does the subcontractor carry the right kind or have adequate coverage?

2. You may receive poor customer service.

If the medical waste broker is located in a different time zone, you could run into trouble getting in touch with staff or experience a delay in their response time. In the same way, the local subcontractor may not be in immediate contact with an out-of-state broker, which can slow work down considerably and cause further communication challenges.

3. Disputes may need to be handled in another state.

Most contracts with waste management brokers include a jurisdiction clause, which typically states that any disputes about the contract have to be handled in the county and state in which the broker is located. If you’re required to fly across the country to handle disputes, it can make it difficult to remedy conflicts.

4. Costs can be higher.

In most cases, the prices are actually higher when you work with a medical waste broker. That’s because the broker must mark up the cost of the work in order to make a profit. A reputable waste management company will build out reasonable contracts and keep costs low.

5. You could be risking non-compliance.

If you’re considering contracting with a medical waste broker, ask the salesperson who owns the trucks and hires the workers who will be handling your waste. Are they permitted to do the work in Arizona? And ask for a certificate of insurance for both the broker and the subcontractor. Issues with an unlicensed broker can come back around to you. It’s up to you to perform due diligence on anyone you hire to handle your medical waste. If you don’t, you could be putting your business at risk for compliance or customer service problems that may be very difficult to resolve. Better yet, choose an Arizona-based and Arizona-licensed medical waste disposal company, such as US Bio-Clean.