Health Care Waste Case Study

Hospitals are one of the important sites for the generation of wastes. Every department in of it produces different kinds of waste: health care, household and administrative waste. Infectious, chemical, expired pharmaceutical and radioactive items and sharps are examples of healthcare waste; some of these wastes can be pathogenic, and people often referred to them as hazardous healthcare waste. On the other hand there are waste items included through healthcare but not hazardous, some of examples are medication boxes, the packaging of medical items and food, remains of food, and waste from offices. Every department including the hospital administration and every healthcare providing personnel in the hospital are responsible in the system managing the produced waste by the hospital. The process or the system should begin at the site of generation where medical waste must be properly collected and then properly segregated the hazardous wastes from the non-hazardous waste in specific color-coded receptacles. The transportation of hazardous healthcare waste should be well organized and planned in the hospital and should be conveyed by special carts. Storage should be carried out in utility rooms specially prepared for this purpose. Other methods, on-site or off-site are available for the final

Proper handling, treatment, and disposal of waste by type reduces costs and reduces risk to public health. The most appropriate way of identifying the categories of health-care waste is by sorting the waste into color-coded plastic bags or containers. Segregation should always be the responsibility of the waste producer or the establishment itself, The waste should be as close as possible to where it is generated, and should be contained in storage areas and during transport. This process or practice should be and must be applied throughout the