Department of
Environmental Quality

Dental offices typically generate hazardous wastes, such as amalgam particles, waste mercury, fixers, developers, x-ray film packets, and chemiclave chemicals. Many of these are designated hazardous waste and are subject to special disposal requirements regulated by a federal law called the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Requirements are determined by the type and quantity of waste generated. For more specific information regarding dental waste, view the documents under the DEQ Resources section on the right side of this page.