How to Dispose of Clinical Waste (And Where Does It Go?)

Proper waste management is crucial in healthcare to protect public health and the environment. Clinical waste, including used syringes and contaminated dressings, requires special handling and disposal methods. But where does clinical waste end up?

Join us as we discuss the proper method of disposing of different types of medical waste and their journey to reach their final destination.

What is Clinical Waste?
Why is Clinical Waste Disposal so Important?
Clinical Waste Sorting Process
Where Does Clinical Waste Go?

What is Clinical Waste?

Clinical waste is a term for waste products in healthcare or laboratory facilities that pose a risk of infection, disease, or harm to anyone who comes into contact with it. It includes products hazardous to human health, the environment, or both.

Types of Clinical Waste

There are many different types of clinical waste, each requiring a different disposal method due to the dangers they cause.

These include:

Sharps Waste includes any item that has the potential to cut, pierce, or puncture skin, such as syringes, needles, and other items.
Pharmaceutical Waste includes any unused or expired pharmaceutical products that are not cytotoxic or cytostatic.
Contaminated PPE includes any personal protective equipment and other materials that have been contaminated with blood, bodily fluids, or other infectious materials.
Anatomical Waste includes blood bags and waste material from biopsy procedures where tissues or tissue samples have been taken.
Cytotoxic and Cytostatic Waste includes any medicinal product containing hazardous properties such as being toxic, carcinogenic, or mutagenic. This also includes waste generated from a patient prescribed a cytotoxic and cytostatic drug.
Microbial Waste includes cultures, slides, specimens, or other microorganisms. Even empty vaccine vials may contain hazardous contents, especially if they are expired or become contaminated with bacteria.

How to Identify Clinical Waste

Every employee or worker of a facility that produces clinical waste must be able to identify it and use appropriate processes to ensure it is contained, isolated, and adequately disposed of.

Clinical waste can be divided into three categories of materials:

Any healthcare waste that poses a risk of infection
Particular healthcare wastes that pose a hazard
Medicines and medicinally-contaminated waste containing a pharmaceutical ingredient

Clinical waste can be deadly, especially if misidentified and processed incorrectly. Proper handling reduces the risk of contamination and infection transmission; therefore, it is paramount to identify medical waste and how it must be disposed of.

Why Is Clinical Waste Disposal so Important?

Hazardous waste and materials must be carried out safely to prevent them from posing several risks to both people and the environment. There are many reasons why disposing of clinical waste is necessary, and these include:

Infections & Disease

According to the World Health Organisation, 15% of the total waste generated by healthcare facilities is considered hazardous material that may be infectious, toxic, or radioactive. Careful disposal of this waste can prevent harmful chemicals from being unintentionally released, which can save lives.

Environmental Sustainability

Properly disposing of clinical waste will improve your overall waste management system. Incorrect disposal of clinical waste could lead to contamination of the surrounding environment. However, putting the right disposal methods in place makes this less risky to the environment, humans, and animals.

Legal Regulations

The Healthcare Technical Memorandum (HTM 07-01) details specific guidance for healthcare workers to ensure the safe management and disposal of clinical waste. Adhering to these guidelines is crucial to preventing clinical waste from posing risks to both people and the environment. Workers must also follow necessary waste disposal regulations, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002 (COSHH).

Clinical Waste Sorting Process

When starting the disposal process for clinical waste, the person responsible must be prepared. As a general rule, those handling clinical waste should:

‍

Wear appropriate personal protective equipment such as gloves, masks, and aprons.
Check that all storage bags containing clinical waste are effectively sealed and undamaged.
Clean accidental spillages properly.

‍

Clinical waste must also be colour-coded so the worker can tell each type apart, allowing them to dispose of it correctly. The colour-coded system makes it easier and safer for organisations to dispose of waste while saving time and money.

Waste Bin Colour-Coded System

‍

Yellow Lid - Waste that is contaminated with blood or medicines, such as needles and syringes

Orange Lid - Waste that is contaminated with blood, such as dressings, gloves, and wipes

Blue Lid - Pharmaceutical waste, including unused or expired medicines

Purple Lid - Cytotoxic and cytostatic waste

Red Lid - Anatomical waste such as limbs and tissue

Black and Yellow Bags - Non-hazardous hygiene waste such as nappies, wipes, gloves, and any garments with non-infectious bodily fluids

Yellow Biohard Bags - Contaminated medical waste as well as chemicals and bodily fluids

Black Bags - Domestic waste such as food and drink packaging

Where Does Clinical Waste Go?

Incineration

The majority of clinical waste is incinerated. This waste treatment process uses very high temperatures, which burns organic substances in clinical waste materials.

‍

The materials are converted into nothing but gas, ash, and heat during incineration. The heat generated can then be recycled as heat energy. This incineration process has also been proven to reduce the mass and volume of original waste by more than 80% and over 95%, meaning only a small fraction of the matter ends up in a landfill.

Autoclave Sterilisation

One alternative to incineration is autoclave sterilisation. This is a required step for hazardous clinical waste that needs to be treated before it can be safely disposed of in a landfill. Contaminated waste must be treated with great caution when considering disposal. All waste that ends up in the orange-lid waste bin requires autoclave sterilisation.

‍

This process involves shredding the waste and placing the contaminated waste into a large steel vessel. The vessel pumps high-pressure steam into the unit at temperatures of up to 160 degrees. This process continues for 25 minutes, allowing the hot air to kill all germs and dangerous microorganisms.

‍

The process results in a disintegrated mass of non-hazardous fibrous material. This system reduces the volume of waste by around 60%, and the remainder is then transported to incineration plants or landfill sites.

Clinical Waste Disposal FAQs

Can you put clinical waste in a regular bin?

Clinical waste must be disposed of carefully to ensure it does not harm people or the environment. It cannot be disposed of in a regular bin; only non-hazardous clinical waste can be disposed of in a black refuse bin.

Can you throw syringes in the bin?

Syringes, needles, and other sharp objects must be disposed of in a yellow ‘sharps’ bin to prevent injury to yourself or those around you.

Are sanitary pads classed as clinical waste?

Sanitary pads are non-hazardous and can be thrown away as general waste while you are at home. Many feminine hygiene products include packaging so they can be wrapped up and disposed of without leakage. In a public bathroom, sanitary pads should be placed in a separate sanitary bin.

Ensure Safe Disposal of Hazardous Substances with Woosh

Correctly disposing of clinical waste protects people and the environment. At Woosh, we provide waste disposal bins, from yellow sharps bins ideal for syringes and needles to clinical waste bins designed for swabs and dressings disposal. Our Wooshologists have perfected all the essentials of clinical waste bins while boosting their durability, safety, and style.

‍

Dive into our range of clinical waste management systems and contact us to learn more about our disposal solutions.

‍