Professional Documents
Culture Documents
System Framework
Policy Objectives:
1. Reduction of wastes generated at the
source
2. The reduction of wastes to extend the
serviceability of final disposal sites
3. Improvement of collection efficiency
4. The provision of safe, environmentally
friendly & acceptable way of disposing
waste collected from source
Waste Hierarchy
Refers to an ordered sequence of
initiatives that can be used to identify
steps in addressing the amount of waste
produced by society
Waste avoidance Reuse Recovery
Recycling Disposal
Functional Elements of Solid
Waste Management
1. Waste Generation
2. On-site handling, storage & processing
3. Collection
4. Transfer & Transport
5. Processing and recovery
6. Disposal
Solid Waste Generation
Definition : refers to the act or process of
producing waste
Source Reduction : reduction of solid waste
before it enters the solid waste stream
3Rs of Solid Waste Mgt. at the source:
1. Reduce- avoid wasteful consumption of
goods & minimize waste
2. Reuse- recovering materials intended for the
same or different purpose without altering
its physical characteristics
3. Recycle-solid waste materials are transformed
into new materials
On-Site Storage
Containers for on-site storage should meet
the following requirements:
1. Provided with fitting covers to prevent access
to flies and rodents
2. Sufficient in size or number to store all the
wastes between collection
3. Made of water-proof material
4. Small enough to be carried easily when filled
with wastes
5. Accessible to the collector, not subject to
flooding & located away from food storage
On-Site Storage
Ecological Solid Waste Management Act
of 2000 provides that segregation of
wastes shall be primarily conducted at
the source
Wastes shall be segregated into
biodegradable and non- biodegradable
Refuse Collection
Important points to consider in solid
waste collection are:
1. Regular collection is necessary to avoid
problems of storage
2. Vehicles transporting refuse should be
properly covered to prevent foul odors,
eye-sores access to flies & scattering
of waste materials in the streets
3. The route to the final destination site
should be as direct as possible from the
point of origin & should avoid busy
streets
Transfer and Transport
Refers to the means & facilities
used to effect the transfer of
wastes from relatively small to
larger vehicles & to transport them
to processing centers or disposal
sites
Processing Techniques
1. Mechanical volume reduction
Compaction
Balling of papers for recycling
Used to increase the life of landfills
2. Thermal volume reduction
Incineration can reduce the volume of
wastes by more than 90%
Generation of toxic air pollutants:
dioxins and furans
Processing Techniques
3. Manual component separation
Can be accomplished at the source,
transfer stations, centralized processing
stations or disposal sites
Materials to be sorted or salvaged are:
cardboard & high quality paper,
newsprint, aluminum cans, glass, iron
metals
Resource Recovery
Refer to the collection, extraction or
sorting of recyclable materials from the
waste stream for purpose of recycling,
generating energy or production of a
product for beneficial use
The recyclable items are bought by
manufacturing plants for processing to
produce goods
Disposal of Solid Wastes
In the homes particularly in rural
areas, solid wastes may be disposed of
satisfactorily in the ff. ways:
1. Burial- deposit solid wastes in pits &
covered with soil
> pit should be located at least 25 m.
away from any well used for water
supply
2. Open burning
3. Feeding to animals
4. Composting – controlled decomposition of
organic matter by micro-organisms
mainly bacteria & fungi, into humus-like
product
5. Grinding & disposal sewer – “garbage
grinders” attached to kitchen sinks
6. Sanitary Landfill- involves controlled disposal
of solid wastes on or in the upper layer of
earth’s mantle
Criteria for Establishment of a
Sanitary Landfill
1. Liners – a system of clay or geosynthetic
membranes used to contain the leachate
and to prevent contaminant flow to
groundwater
Metals
Wastes with a high metal content
Represent a subcategory of hazardous
chemical waste & are usually highly toxic
Mercury wastes generated from spillage
of broken clinical equipment
Cadmium waste comes from discarded
batteries
Reinforced wood panels containing lead
Pressurized Containers
Includes gases which are stored in
pressurized cylinders, cartridges and
aerosol cans
Whether inert or potentially harmful,
gases in pressurized containers should
always be handled with care
Radioactive Wastes
Includes disused sealed radiation
sources, liquid & gaseous materials
contaminated with radioactivity, excreta
of patients who underwent radionuclide
diagnostic and therapeutic applications ,
paper cups, straws, needles & syringes,
test tubes, & tap water washings of
such paraphernalia
Waste Minimization
Centered on the elimination or reduction
of the health care waste stream
Consist of source reduction, recycling,
treatment and residual disposal
Prior to the implementation of a waste
minimization program, it is important to
develop a baseline data of the amount
of waste generated
Principles of Waste Minimization
Identify waste generation rates, current
hazardous waste management strategies
Commitment of health care establishment
operators/owners to waste minimization
Includes a written policy with specific goals,
objectives & timeliness
Train employees in hazardous waste handling &
site specific waste minimization methods
Be aware of and keep updated on the
hazardous materials regulations
Methods of Waste Minimization
Eliminate use of a material or
generate less waste
Re-use
Recycling
Segregation of wastes
Composting
Color Coding Scheme for Health
Care Waste
Black – non-infectious waste
Green – non-infectious wet waste
Yellow – infectious & pathological waste
Yellow with black band – chemical waste
including those with heavy metals
Orange – Radioactive waste
Red – sharps & pressurized containers
The following practices should be
observed:
Residuals of the general health care
waste should join the domestic waste or
municipal solid waste
Sharps should all be collected together
& placed in puncture proof containers
with fitted covers
Bags & containers for infectious waste
should be marked with the international
infectious substance symbol
Highly infectious waste & other
hazardous waste should be treated
immediately
Cytotoxic waste should be collected in
leak proof containers clearly labeled
“Cytotoxic wastes”
Radioactive waste should be segregated
accdg. to its physical form & to its
half-life and potency
Large quantities of chemical waste should be
packed in chemical resistant containers & sent
to specialized treatment facilities
Wastes with a high content of heavy metals
(e.g. cadmium or mercury) should be collected
separately & sent to a waste treatment facility
Aerosol containers may be collected with the
general health care waste. They should not be
burnt or incinerated.
Anatomical waste should be disposed of in
accordance with the local custom
Health Care Waste Treatment
Aim: to change the biological & chemical
character of the waste to minimize its
potential to cause harm
Incineration used to be the method of
choice in treating health care wastes
Most common technologies & processes
are: thermal, chemical, irradiation,
biological processes, encapsulation and
inertization
Thermal Processes
Rely on high heat to destroy pathogens
Autoclave
> uses high temperature & high pressure
steam sterilization to inactivate most
microorganisms
> used for sterilization of reusable
medical equipment
Chemical Disinfection
Presently being applied for treatment of
health care waste
Aldehydes, Chlorine compounds, phenolic
compounds, etc. are added to waste to
kill or inactivate pathogens
Most suitable in treating blood, urine,
stools and sewage or in treating
infectious wastes containing pathogens
Biological Processes
Uses an enzyme mixture to decontaminate
health care wastes
Requires regulation of ph, enzyme level,
temperature & other variables
Design application is mainly for regional health
care waste treatment centers
Composting & vermiculture for treating and
disposing of placental waste, food waste, yard
trimmings & other organic wastes
Radiation Technology
Wastes containign potentially infectious
microorganisms ( sewage sludge, biomedical
wastes, wastewater) are treated using
irradiation systems
Four main elements of the waste handling
system are:
1. Identification of the contaminated
waste
2. Collection
3. Sterilization
4. Final disposal or recycling
Encapsulation
Appropriate for disposal of sharps &
chemical and pharmaceutical residues
Uses either cubic boxes made of high
density polyethylene or metallic drums
that are ¾ filled with sharps or chemical
or pharmaceutical residues
Containers are filled up with a medium
like plastic foam, bituminous sand &
cement mortar
Reduces the risk of scavengers gaining
access to health care wastes
Inertization
Suitable for pharmaceutical waste
Involves the mixing of waste with cement &
other substances before disposal
Minimize the risk of toxic substances in the
waste from migrating into the surface water or
groundwater
Mixture composed of 65% pharmaceutical
waste, 15% lime, 15% cement, & 5% water
Waste Disposal Systems
Sanitary Landfill – designed to keep the
waste isolated from the environment
Safe burial on Hospital premises
Septic or concrete vault – for the
disposal of used sharps & syringes
Burial on Hospital Premises
Burial site should be lined with a
material of low permeability like clay
Only hazardous health care wastes
should be buried
Large quantities (>1kg) of chemical &
pharmaceutical wastes should not be
buried
Burial site should be managed as a
landfill
Burial pit should be downhill & about 50
meters away from any body of water
The bottom of the pit should be at least
1.5 meters higher than the ground
water level
On-site burial is for limited period of
1-2 years only & for small amounts of
wastes ( 5-10 tons in total)
Summary
We have discussed:
1. Definition of health care waste
2. Categories of health care wastes
3. Health care waste Minimization Program
4. Color coding scheme for HCW
5. Practices that should be observed in health
care waste disposal
6. Processes in HCW treatment
7. Waste disposal systems for HCW