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 DEFINITION OF HEALTH CARE WASTE

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Health care waste may be defined as any undesirable or superfluous by-product,

emission, residue or remainder generated by in the course of health care by

healthcare professionals, healthcare facilities and other non-healthcare

, which is discarded, accumulated and stored with the purpose of eventually

discarding it, or is stored with the purpose of recycling, re-using or extracting

a usable product from such matter. Health care waste may, if handled improperly,

have the potential to harm people, property or the environment.  In this regard,

all human anatomical waste, blood and body fluids are considered to be potentially

hazardous.  The unsafe disposal of such waste could have detrimental effects for

people who might come into contact with health care waste.

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TYPES OF HAZARDOUS HEALTH CARE WASTE

 

For the purpose of these guidelines, the following would be considered to be hazardous health care waste:

 

      1 Infectious waste.

 

      2 Pathological waste, including body fluids, secretions and surgical specimens.

 

      3 Sharps, especially contaminated sharps.

 

      4 Pharmaceutical waste.

 

      5 Chemical waste.

 

      6 Heavy metals.

 

      7 Radioactive waste.

 

      8 Genotoxic waste.

 

      9  Cytotoxic agents

 

    10 Pressurised containers.

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