Overview of Solid Waste Management of Healthcare and Related Organisations

Abstract

This chapter provides information on the quantities and properties of healthcare wastes in various types of facilities located in developing countries, as well as in some industrialized countries. Most of the information has been obtained from the literature, while some information has been collected by the authors and from reports available to the authors. The range of hospital waste generation varies from 0.016 to 3.23 kg/bed-day. The relatively wide variation is due to the fact that some of the facilities surveyed may include out-patient services and district health clinics; these facilities essentially provide basic services and thus the quantities of waste generated are relatively small. On the other hand, the reported amount of infectious waste varied from 0.01 to 0.65 kg/bed-day. The characteristics of the components of healthcare wastes, such as the bulk density and the calorific value, have substantial variability. It was concluded that the world has made only slow progress in proper medical in past decades, with dramatic differences among countries and regions.