Components of Medical Waste

Medical waste (clinical waste) includes all waste materials generated at health care facilities. After the repeal of the federal government's Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988, collection and disposal of medical waste is now regulated by individual state or local governments. Medical waste is of environmental concern, as it can include infectious as well as biohazardous materials.

Definition

• Medical waste is waste from the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals.

  According to the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1998, medical waste is defined as solid waste generated or produced in the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals. It also includes waste generated in any associated research, in the production or testing of biologicals (medicinal preparations made from living organisms and their products), any trauma scene waste (including waste removed from the actual scene) or any accumulation of home-generated sharps waste.

Materials

• Used gloves and blood-associated materials fall under medical waste.

  The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) categorizes all medical waste as either biohazardous waste or sharps waste. The definition of medical waste includes materials such as discarded surgical gloves, discarded surgical instruments, blood-soaked bandages, culture dishes, used glassware, discarded needles used to give immunizations or draw blood (medical sharps), removed body organs (human or animal), cultures, stocks, swabs and discarded lancets.

Health Care Facilities

• Medical waste is generated in health care facilities.

  The health care facilities responsible for generating medical waste include hospitals, private physician's offices, clinics, dental offices, nursing homes, blood banks, veterinary hospitals, various laboratories and all medical research facilities.

Disposal of Sharps Waste

• Used needles have to be disposed of in properly labeled disposal boxes.

  The sharps waste category has generated and received a great deal of attention. This is because discarded or used needles and syringes pose a threat to the general public health. Improper management of sharps waste poses a serious health risk, especially to waste workers due to needle-stick injuries and discarded needles in garbage bags. Therefore, in partnership with the Environment Protection Agency, several public organizations have collaborated to create the Coalition for Safe Community Needle Disposal. The Coalition promotes public awareness about safe disposal programs for needles. These include drop boxes or collection sites, mail-back programs, syringe exchange programs and at-home needle destruction devices.

Incineration or Sterilization

• Some medical waste is appropriately incinerated.

  Most medical waste is either incinerated or sterilized. According to the Environment Protection Agency, 90 percent of all infectious medical waste is incinerated. Alternatively, some medical waste, including certain types of equipment or glassware, is sterilized. Sterilization involves steam sterilization (autoclaving), thermal treatment (involving microwave technologies) or other medical waste treatment technologies. Any medical waste treatment technology that claims to reduce the infectiousness of the waste by the use of a chemical must register with the Environment Protection Agency.