Infectious Waste

This type of waste is defined as waste that contains hazardous properties that may render it harmful to human health or the Environment it is defined as any waste which is made up completely or partly of:

human or animal tissue
blood or other bodily fluids
excretions
drugs or other pharmaceutical products
swabs or dressings
syringes, needles or other sharp instruments
Also includes drugs or other pharmaceutical products.

Infectious waste is known as Clinical waste and is mainly produced by hospitals, health clinics, doctors' surgeries and veterinary practices, but can come from residential homes, nursing homes and private households, or the collection of blood for transfusion, which may cause infection to any person coming into contact with it.

The UK Environmental Regulatory Authorities have produced a joint guidance document on the interpretation, definition and classification of hazardous waste entitled WM2.

The Hazardous Waste Regulations define infectious (H9) as: Substances containing viable micro-organisms or their toxins which are known or reliably believed to cause disease in man or other living organisms.

Pathological and anatomical waste

Pathological waste consists in organs, tissues, body parts or fluids such as blood. Even if pathological waste may contain healthy body parts, it has to be considered as infectious waste for precautionary reasons.

Anatomical waste is a sub-group of pathological waste and consists in recognisable human body parts, whether they may be infected or not. Following the precautionary principal, anatomical waste is always considered as potential infectious waste.

Hazardous pharmaceutical waste

Pharmaceutical waste includes expired, unused, spilt and contaminated pharmaceutical products, drugs and vaccines. In this category are also included discarded items used in the handling of pharmaceuticals like bottles, vials, connecting tubing. Since the Ministry of Health has taken specific measures to reduce the wastage of drugs, HCFs should deal only with small quantities of pharmaceutical waste.

This category also includes all the drugs and equipment used for the mixing and administration of cytotoxic drugs. Cytotoxic drugs or genotoxic drugs are drugs that have the ability to reduce/stop the growth of certain living cells and are used in chemotherapy for cancer. Cytotoxic waste is dealt with under a separate heading.

Sharps

Sharps are items that can cause cuts or puncture wounds (needle stick injuries for instance). Whether they are infected or not, they are considered as highly dangerous and potentially infectious waste. They must be segregated, packed and handled specifically to ensure the safety of the medical and ancillary staff.

Highly infectious waste

Highly infectious waste consists in microbial cultures and stocks of highly infectious agents from Medical Analysis Laboratories. They also include body fluids of patients with highly infectious diseases.

Transfer notes/Consignment notes

All producers of waste their employees and service carriers, have a duty of care to ensure all waste is being disposed of legally. A duty of care is imposed on all those who import, produce, carry, keep, treat and dispose of controlled waste or have control of such waste. All those to whom the Duty applies must: