Disposing of clinical waste is something that you are responsible for as a healthcare professional. You can leave most of the disposal part to the local council’s clinical waste collection system or a private contractor; however, you should be aware of the clinical waste handling and disposal requirements, so that you donβt get yourself or others into trouble.
Categories of Clinical Waste
Clinical waste disposal is a sensitive subject, and the UK government has promulgated stringent laws to ensure safety along each step of the way. To start with, clinical waste has been divided into two broad categories, i.e. hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste.
Hazardous, Non-hazardous, and Infectious Waste.
The hazardous category includes infectious waste as the most potentially harmful type of waste. Infectious waste may consist of medical instruments that have been in contact with body fluids, such as syringes, needles, or sharp instruments; infected tissue, blood, or bodily fluids; excretions, cotton swabs, dressings, or any other waste that is potentially carrying an infection, however minor that infection may be.
Non-infectious hazardous waste includes toxic or expired medicine, healthcare chemicals, batteries, X-ray photo-chemicals, and radioactive waste. Non-hazardous waste includes offensive hygiene waste (for example sanitary waste, nappies, and human hygiene waste), non-toxic medicine, domestic waste, food waste, and recyclable waste.
Categories of Clinical Waste
The government has promulgated stringent laws to ensure safety along each step of the way. To start with, clinical waste has been divided into two broad categories, i.e. hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste.
Hazardous, Non-hazardous, and Infectious Waste
The hazardous category includes infectious waste as the most potentially harmful type of waste. Infectious waste may consist of medical instruments that have been in contact with body fluids, such as syringes, needles, or sharp instruments; infected tissue, blood, or bodily fluids; excretions, cotton swabs, dressings, or any other waste that is potentially carrying an infection, however minor that infection may be.
Non-infectious hazardous waste includes toxic or expired medicine, healthcare chemicals, batteries, X-ray photo-chemicals, and radioactive waste. Non-hazardous waste includes offensive hygiene waste (for example sanitary waste, nappies, and human hygiene waste), non-toxic medicine, domestic waste, food waste, and recyclable waste.
Clinical Waste Segregation
Infectious waste must be segregated from non-infectious waste very effectively; otherwise the whole waste disposal process goes for a six. If it is suspected that infectious waste has been mixed with non-infectious waste, the whole waste stream has to be treated as infectious. Infectious waste must never be put into recycling containers.
Colour-Coded Waste Segregation System
England now has a national colour-coded system to dispose of different types of hazardous waste. There are 10 colour-codes, each one being associated with a particular type of hazardous waste. For example, yellow and orange bags and containers are for infectious waste, purple bags are for cytotoxic waste, yellow with an orange lid is for non-infected sharps, and so on. It’s a pretty elaborate system and may take health professionals some time to learn.
Health authorities prescribe segregation of waste right at the point of origin. Each colour-coded clinical waste stream is disposed off differently. The yellow stream, for instance, has to be incinerated, while the orange stream must be rendered safe through treatment before disposal at an approved facility.
Waste Disposal Laws
The colour codes and the disposal methods are a part of the law, and all the people working in healthcare should be aware of them. It is illegal to dispose of clinical waste through an unauthorised company or individual. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires any person handling, storing, depositing, or disposing of clinical waste to hold a waste management license and comply with the terms of the license. Any digression from the laid down waste-disposal procedures, or any act that jeopardises public health or safety, is a criminal offense.
Section 34 of the same law makes it obligatory for people concerned with controlled (including clinical) waste to make sure that the waste is segregated and managed properly, disposed of safely, and is only handed over to someone who is authorised to handle it. Clinical waste disposal is a serious subject and requires utmost caution and care. Any lapse in handling infectious waste can pose a public health risk, apart from causing embarrassment, and possibly, legal action.
The legal and procedural aspects of clinical waste disposal aside, it is the ethical and societal responsibility of every healthcare professional to follow the clinical waste disposal safe practices, procedures and guidelines. It is a responsibility that falls under the scope of primum non nocere or “first do no harm”, which is the first principle of medical ethics.
Dr Garry J McCLean is a health and safety consultant and writes for The Workplace Depot and for various industry magazines about workplace issues.
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