Types of Biomedical Waste Disposal

Types of Biomedical Waste Disposal

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Biomedical waste disposal must undergo a proper treatment method to sterilize the waste of any infectious materials. Since your biomedical waste disposal company likely picks up your waste, you likely don’t know much about what happens to your waste after that.

Read further to understand what happens to medical waste after it leaves the healthcare facility.

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‍Types of Biomedical Waste Disposal: ‍

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After medical waste is collected by a medical waste disposal company, it is taken to a treatment center where it is treated using one of the following methods:

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‍1. Microwaving

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‍Medical waste is shredded and then sterilized using electromagnetic waves. It is shredded into very small pieces and then disinfected by electromagnetic waves for around one hour until all potentially infectious materials are gone.

The result is a dry shredded waste with 80% less waste volume! Eco Medical utilizes microwaving in our treatment to reduce the amount of waste produced and the impact of the waste on the environment.

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2. Autoclave

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‍Medical waste is sterilized with steam that is generated from boiling water by trapping it in the autoclave, and utilizing the steam and pressure to kill any potentially infectious agents. Around 20-37% of medical waste is sterilized this way.

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3. Incineration

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‍Incineration is the most common method of disposal for both regular trash and medical waste. This is a process where waste materials are burned at an extremely high temperature (More than 870 degrees Celsius) until the waste is reduced to ash or gasses.

Depending on your state, this is the required method for multiple types of biomedical waste. For example, pathology waste and non-hazardous pharmaceuticals can only be disposed of using incineration in California. The main concern regarding incineration is the air pollution and other environmental concerns.

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4. Chemical

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‍This is the least popular method of medical waste disposal. This involves soaking in a solution or exposing the waste to chemical gasses. This is the least common method as it has some serious disadvantages including: hazardous byproducts, occupational risks, high costs, special handling requirements and more.

Some studies suggest microwaving is the most environmentally friendly method of treatment:

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Summary of Biomedical Waste Disposal:

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While there is debate over the best biomedical waste treatment method, Eco Medical finds that microwave technology should be utilized when possible.

Since microwave technology has the least environmental impact and largely reduces the volume of waste entering landfills, it may be the best method of disposal.

Autoclaves are another extremely effective method for treating medical waste, and are commonly used in the medical waste disposal industry.

Incineration has a large impact on air, water, and solid residue and should only be utilized for waste streams that require that method of disposal.