medical waste

What is medical waste?

Medical waste is any waste that is generated as a by-product of healthcare work at doctor’s surgeries, dentists, hospitals and laboratories. It includes any material that could come into contact with the body during diagnosis, research, drug administration or any type of treatment.

According to WHO (World Health Organization), there are 8 types of medical waste.

Different types of medical waste

Infectious Waste

Anything that’s infectious or contaminated

Sharps

Waste like needles, scalpels, broken glass and razors

Pathological Waste

Human or animal tissue, body parts, blood and fluids

Pharmaceutical Waste

Unused and expired drug or medicines, like creams, pills, antibiotics

Genotoxic Waste

Cytotoxic drugs and other hazardous toxic waste, that’s carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic.

Radioactive Waste

Any waste containing potentially radioactive materials

Chemical Waste

Liquid waste, typically from machines, batteries and disinfectants

General/Other Waste

All other, non-hazardous waste.

Medical waste management in hospital

Based on United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA, medical waste is a subset of wastes generated at health care facilities such as clinic, hospital and blood banks.

red

anatomical waste

orange

clinical infectious waste

yellow

clinical highly infectious waste

blue

medicinal waste

purple

waste that contains cytotoxic and cytostatic properties

black

mixed municipal waste

white

dental waste

Medical waste disposal

When it comes time to dispose of medical waste, there are several different methods one could take, depending on the type of material. Choosing a treatment system should be done carefully, on the basis of various factors, many of which depend on local conditions. Here are some of the most common