Stillwater hospital fined $15K for improper infectious waste disposal

Lakeview Memorial Hospital in Stillwater, Minnesota, was fined $15,000 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for improperly disposing of infectious waste containing liquid blood and blood-contaminated items. The hospital failed to separate, label, and store the waste correctly, leading to rejection by the waste management facility. The MPCA reported 8,419 enforcement actions totaling over $24 million since 2019, and the hospital has submitted a plan to address procedural changes.