Whenever health care waste is discussed with people outside of the industry, the first thing that comes to mind is the illegal dumping of syringes and body parts.

The media quite rightly are quick to focus on these events and we are all familiar with the reports where the only change is the location and size of the event, the most memorable one being the huge dumping of health care risk waste in the brick works in the Free
State.

So, what is Health Care Waste (HCW)? Health Care Waste is broken into two main categories viz. the nonhazardous health care general waste (HCGW) and the hazardous component – health care risk waste (HCRW) which includes infectious waste, anatomical waste, sharps, pathological / laboratory waste, pharmaceutical waste, radioactive waste and cytotoxic waste.

Other types of hazardous waste generated in a health care facility are similar to any other industry such as mercury, silver, asbestos, fluorescent tubes, chemicals, oils and solvents etc.

The types of waste generated in the execution of health services are therefore very broad and require an integrated waste management approach to deal effectively with it.

Effective segregation at source is key to good health care waste management, as the different types of waste generated require different methods of treatment to render the hazardous components (pathogens) safe for disposal.

The hierarchy of waste management that represents avoidance, reduce, reuse and recycle to minimise the quantities of waste going for final treatment and disposal is also key to good health care waste management.

Download technical paper here.