Material waste refers to a broad category of wasteby-products containing materials that have the potential of spreading contagious infections. These include surgical gloves with bloodstains, nursing gowns, gauzes,paper towels with contaminants, patients’ dressings, empty vaccine containers, and disposable syringes. This waste can even comprise cultures of human tissues andinfectious agents which scientists create in laboratories to study diseases.It is normally generated from medical clinics, hospitals, laboratories, veterinary centers, anddiagnostic facilities.
All hospitals, medical centers, veterinary clinics, laboratories, dentist chambers, and research facilities must have a proper waste disposal policy. This is because medical waste can pose numerous health hazards to doctors, nurses, orderlies, janitors, patients, and other healthcare employees. There is always a risk these individualswill get infectious diseasesif they accidentallycome in contact with this trash. To avoid this scenario, the administrative authorities of healthcare clinics, hospitals, medical centers, and laboratories hire corporate medical waste disposal vendors.
Medical waste disposal service providers are third-party companies that assist hospitals, medical clinics, laboratories, and research facilities to get rid of hazardous medical waste. The specialists of these corporations provide these garbage bins of different colors to segregate the waste into four broad categories. These include infectious, biohazardous, radioactive, sharp, pharmaceutical, chemical, pathological, genotoxic, and regulated medical waste. Then, the experts dispose of the medical waste using any of the following methods:
Autoclaving
This involves exposing the medical waste to hot steam sterilization for the specific time limit to kill all microorganisms. The method is effective in blood stains, bodily fluids, and potential infectious in a wide range of waste products. These include doctors’ scalpels, patients’ bedding, nursing gowns, bandages, surgical gloves, needles, and medical knives.
Incineration
Incineration involves burning the medical waste at high temperatures to destroy all organic constituents in the waste in a controlled environment. The method is useful in disposing of certain clinical, biohazardous, andpathological waste materials. These could be recognizable human tissue, cultures, ampules, disposable swaps, needles, plasters, bandages, and drug blister packs.
Microwaving
This is a relatively new way of disposing of both biohazardous and non-hazardous medical waste. It involves shedding the waste into tiny unusable and unrecognizable bits in high-powered equipment which uses microwave heat technology. Then, the sheds are sent to various landfills throughout the country. This method is suitable for disposing of medical wastes which neither 100 dry nor solid.
Chemical treatment
This method involves decontaminating, deactivating, and sterilizing the medical waste with chemical agents. These are normally chlorine, calcium oxide, or even sodium hydroxide depending on the nature of the waste. It is suitable for both liquid and non-infectious clinical waste products. However, this method of medical waste disposal needs to be done under proper supervision.
Medical waste disposal service providers offer a valuable service to hospitals, medical clinics, diagnostic centers, and laboratories. However, administrators of these healthcare centers need to ensure that the vendors they hire have a good reputation in the market. Moreover, the specialist in the payroll of these companies needs to have adequate experience. Above all, the subscription-based pricing scheme of the corporation should suit its budget.