Recycling Medical Wastes ..

What are medical wastes ?

The wastes generated at health care facilities, such as hospitals, physicians' offices, dental practices, blood banks, and veterinary hospitals/clinics, as well as medical research facilities and laboratories are called medical wastes. 

International symbol for biological hazard

Medical Wastes fall into four categories

1. General Medical waste - eg paper, files, plastics etc..

2. Infectious medical waste - surgical blades, blood soaked cotton, discarded body parts, used bandages, dressings etc..

3. Hazardous medical waste - chemotherapy drugs, thermometer mercury etc..

4. Radioactive medical waste - wastes from radioactive therapies, solvents, nuclear medicine therapies etc for cancer

Why can't medical wastes re handled like normal wastes ?

Courtesy - Apollo Hospitals

The presence of bacteria, infected sharp tools etc can cause damage to any body tissue which comes in contact with it. Also if not destroyed we are not sure into what all dangerous forms can bacteria morph into. 

The medical wastes first need to be sanitised and then disposed, mainly by an incineration process.. Needles, blades etc are put in a sharps container and then incinerated. 

Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration and other high-temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas and heat. Wikipedia

Aerobic incineration happens in the presence of oxygen and anaerobic incineration happens in the absence of oxygen.  Click here for video of an aerobic incinerator .. What happens inside an incinerator (click here )

Autoclave

Old (after a week), unused blood is transferred to a bio-disposal unit and then incinerated. Refrigerated blood can be kept up to six weeks. 

Autoclave is a pressure chamber used to carry out industrial processes requiring elevated temperature and pressure different from ambient air pressure. These are used for sterilising equipments and for treating and disposing wastes like blades, sharps etc before they are released into the outside world.

This gives a brief information of how medical wastes can be classified.

george..