5 Reasons You Need A Medical Waste Management Plan

Improper health waste disposal can cause a lot of harm to people and the environment. It can cause the spread of disease, affect local wildlife, contaminate the soil, and more. For these reasons, it is vital to have a good plan to manage medical waste.

Read below to find out why.

1. Hospital Waste Is Dangerous To Human Beings

In a medical facility, there are various types of waste:

• General waste– refers to the kind of waste that is common in a household; it forms 80% of medical waste. They are not inherently hazardous.
• Infectious waste– it includes blood, cultures, body fluids, laboratory animal waste.
• Sharps– they include needles, blades, syringes, broken glass that can injure someone or expose them to infections.
• Pharmaceuticals– include expired, contaminated, and unused medication.
• Radioactive– includes radiotherapy materials
• Genotoxic– includes materials most used in cancer treatment.

Improper disposal of medical wastes like those listed above can harm the environment and human beings.

2. Harmful To Health Workers

Medical waste can cause harm to your health staff even before the disposal stage. Employees need to ensure that they get rid of infectious and sharp materials in the proper waste receptacles, NOT in standard trash. Otherwise, items like used needles could harm your waste disposal team and put them at risk of contracting diseases like HIV, Ebola, Hepatitis, Malaria, and syphilis. 

3. Harmful To the Environment

In addition to being harmful to living things, medical waste is also detrimental to the environment. Medical facilities need to ensure that medical waste is not placed together with general waste in landfills. When medical waste is placed in a landfill, it adds up quickly and poses a health risk to the environment.

These waste materials can lead to water contamination. It can get into streams, rivers, lakes, and lastly, into drinking water. Therefore, hospitals need to have a proper health care waste management plan in place.

4. It Is Required by Law

In every state, there are rules and regulations that govern the disposal of medical waste. They state how medical waste should be handled from creation, transport, and disposal. It is vital to follow these rules. If you do not follow the rules, not only will your facility be shut down, but you’ll also threaten the health of the community.

5. Harmful to the Greater Community 

When medical waste is disposed of in a landfill, it creates an immediate risk to people living in the area. These wastes release harmful substances into the air, water, and land. When people breathe this air or drink contaminated water, they can contract life-long diseases that hurt their quality of life. Some of the effects are birth defects, increased cancer risk, mutations, health maladies, and even death.

Parting Words

It’s the role of everyone to ensure the proper disposal of medical waste in hospitals. Having a health care waste management plan in place will help save lives and the greater environment.