Healthcare Waste
Management
ROCHELLE D. DARLUCIO -YABUT, RMT, MPH
COLLEGE OF MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE
OUR L ADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY
Intended Learning Outcomes:
After completing this module, the students should be able to:
1. Discuss the importance of proper waste management in health
care facilities
2. Describe the proper identification, segregation, collection, storage,
transport, treatment, and disposal of health care wastes
Defining Health Care Wastes
➢Health care wastes refer to all solid or liquid wastes generated by any of the following
activities:
1. diagnosis, treatment, and immunization of humans; diagnosis, treatment, and
immunization
2. research pertaining to of humans;
3. research using laboratory animals geared towards improvement of human health;
4. production and testing of biological products; and
5. other activities performed by a healthcare facility that generates wastes.
Categories of Health Care Wastes
1. Infectious Waste
➢refers to all wastes suspected to contain
pathogens or toxins in sufficient
concentration that may cause disease a
susceptible host.
➢It includes discarded materials or
equipment used for diagnosis, treatment,
and management of patients with
infectious diseases
Categories of Health Care Wastes
2. Pathological and Anatomical Waste
➢refers to tissue sections and body fluids
or organs derived from biopsies,
autopsies, or surgical procedures sent to
the laboratory for examination.
➢Anatomical waste is a subgroup of
pathological waste that refers to
recognizable body parts usually from
amputation procedures.
Categories of Health Care Wastes
3. Sharps
➢refer to waste items that can cause
cuts, pricks, or puncture wounds.
➢They are considered the most
dangerous health care waste because of
their potential to cause both injury and
infection.
Categories of Health Care Wastes
4. Chemical Waste
➢refers to discarded chemicals (solid, liquid, or gaseous)
generated during disinfection and sterilization procedures.
➢It also includes wastes with high content of heavy metals
and their derivatives.
➢Chemicals are considered hazardous when they are
▪ toxic (with health and environment hazards)
▪ corrosive (acid of pH<2.0 and bases of pH>12.0)
▪ flammable with a flash point below 60 °C) reactive
(explosive with water)
Categories of Health Care Wastes
5. Pharmaceutical Waste
➢refers to expired, spilt, and contaminated
pharmaceutical products, drugs, and vaccines
including discarded items used in handling
pharmaceuticals.
➢It includes antineoplastic, cytotoxic, and
genotoxic wastes such as drugs used in
oncology or radiotherapy, and biological fluids
from patients treated with the said drugs.
Categories of Health Care Wastes
6. Radioactive Waste
➢refers to wastes exposed to radionuclides including
radioactive diagnostic materials or radiotherapeutic
materials.
➢Residues from shipment of radioactive materials and
unwanted solutions of radionuclides intended for
diagnostic or therapeutic use are examples of
radioactive wastes as well as liquids, gases, and solids
contaminated with radionuclides whose ionizing
radiations have genotoxic effects.
Categories of Health Care Wastes
7. Non-hazardous or General Waste
➢refers to wastes that have not been in contact with communicable or infectious agents, hazardous
chemicals, or radioactive ubstances, and do not pose a hazard.
➢This type of waste can be further classified as
➢a. Recyclable wastes in health care facilities such as
▪ paper products such as used office paper, computer printouts, and corrugated cardboard boxes
▪ aluminum from beverage cans and other aluminum containers
▪ pressurized gas containers such as oxygen tanks plastic products including polyethylene terephthalate
(PET) plastic water bottles, plastic milk containers, and polypropylene plastic bottles for saline solutions and
irrigation fluids
Categories of Health Care Wastes
7. Non-hazardous or General Waste
b. Biodegradable health care wastes such as left-over food from non-
infectious patients and garden wastes such as grass trimmings and tree
cuttings
c. Non-recyclable/non-biodegradable health care wastes that cannot be
classified into either of the first two categories
Health Care Waste Management Hierarchy
GREEN PROCUREMENT
POLICY- health care
facilities are
encouraged to avail of
services that are least
harmful to the
environment and
purchase less polluting
products
Waste Handling,
Collection, Storage,
and Transport
Waste Segregation
Process of separating different types of waste at the point of generation and keeping them
isolated from each other
Hazardous waste should be placed in clearly marked containers that are appropriately labeled
for the type and weight of the waste
Waste Handling, Collection, Storage, and
Transport
Waste Segregation
Storage
All healthcare waste should be collected and stored in waste storage area until transported
to a designated off-site facility.
This area shall be marked
with warning sign:
“CAUTION: BIOHAZARDOUS
WASTE STORAGE AREA –
UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS
KEEP OUT.”
Collection and Transport
On-site collection
◦ Waste should be collected daily and transported to the
designated central storage site or waste transfer station
◦ No bags should be removed unless they are labeled with their
point of production (hospital ward or department) and contents
◦ The bags or containers should be replaced immedately with new
ones of the same type.
On-Site Transport
refers to the transport of waste from the point of generation to the treatment facility in the HCF or to
the central storage area.
on-site transport trolley shall be cleaned and disinfected daily using 4-5% concentration of sodium
hypochlorite
Off-Site Collection
This refers to the collection of waste from the central storage area by an accredited DENR
transporter, Municipal Collector or Supplier into their respective vehicles.
Transport of waste from the central storage of the HCF to a TSD or to the final disposal site.
The waste collector at this point will depend on the type of waste collected.
Healthcare Waste Treatment
Sterilization is defined as a survival probability of the most resistant microorganism of concern
in a given process.
Disinfection is defined as low, intermediate or high depending on the survival probability of
specific microbial groups.
Acceptable technologies and methods used in
the treatment of health care wastes.
1. Pyrolysis
◦ thermal decomposition of health care wastes in the absence of supplied molecular oxygen in the
destruction chamber where the said waste is converted into gaseous, liquid, or solid form
2. Autoclave
◦ the use of steam sterilization to render waste harmless and is an efficient wet thermal disinfection
process. This method of using pressure and heat is widely used and the usual setting is at 121 C with a
pressure of 15 psi for 15 to 30 minutes.
Acceptable technologies and methods used in
the treatment of health care wastes.
3. Microwave
◦ a technology that typically incorporates some type of size reduction device. Shredding of wastes is done
before disinfection.
◦ Temperature: 100 °C (237.6 °F) for at least 30 minutes.
◦ Microorganisms are destroyed by moist heat which irreversibly coagulates and denatures enzymes and
structural proteins.
4. Chemical disinfection
◦ chemicals like sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, peroxyacetic acid, and heated alkali are added
to health care wastes to kill or inactivate present pathogens.
◦ sodium hypochlorite (bleach) with a concentration of 5 percent be used for chemical disinfection.
5. Biological process
◦ uses an enzyme mixture to decontaminate health care wastes.
Acceptable technologies and methods used in
the treatment of health care wastes.
6. Encapsulation
◦ involves the filling of containers with waste, adding and immobilizing material,
and sealing the containers.
◦ uses either cubic boxes made of high-density polyethylene or metallic drums,
◦ filled up with a medium such as plastic foam, bituminous sand, and cement
mortar.
◦ After the medium has dried, the are sealed and disposed in a landfill.
7. Inertization
◦ is especially suitable for pharmaceutical waste that involves the mixing of
waste with cement and other substances before disposal.
Waste Disposal System
Landfill
◦ Landfill is an engineered method designed to keep the waste isolated
from the environment.
Waste Disposal System
Safe Burial
◦ Safe burial as a disposal method is applicable only to treated infectious waste, sharps waste,
pathological and anatomical waste, small quantities of encapsulated/ inertisized solid
chemical and pharmaceutical wastes.
Waste Disposal System
Septic/Concrete Vault
◦ This method is especially suitable for the disposal
of used sharps and syringes.
Summary of Healthcare Waste Handling
1. Waste Generation
2. Waste Segregation
3. Waste Collection
4. Waste Transportation
5. Waste Storage
6. Waste Treatment
7. Waste Disposal
