Biomedical waste is generated during medical processes such as immunization, treatment, and research. Without management, medical waste can be hazardous for bio life, including humans. That’s why the hospital waste management process is meticulous, as explained by this video.
The first thing you should know about hospital waste is the categorization.
It may be categorized as infectious, non-infectious, or hazardous. Further categorization may look at whether the waste is biodegradable or not. The categorizations guide the waste management process by guiding how the waste is handled and the risk it poses.
Biomedical waste is also coded by color. For example, post-operative waste material goes to the yellow bin, tubes, and bottles go to the red bin, and glass and metals go to the blue bin. Color coding helps waste management professionals quickly identify and separate waste. It also helps minimize the likelihood of cross-contamination, thus ensuring safety for medical personnel.
Once coded and identified, different types of biomedical waste are treated differently. Infectious and hazardous waste may go through incineration, which involves burning waste at high temperatures. Certain types of medical equipment are treated using autoclaving to kill microorganisms. If waste is deemed non-infectious and requires no specialized treatment, it may end up in designated landfills.
