Waste separation must be maintained throughout the waste disposal chain, from the generator to the final processor. Waste sorting and separation has to start right at the top of the chain, when a nurse, doctor, health worker or patient decides to throw anything into a bin.
Organisations must ensure that all staff receive proper training. The appropriate disposal streams must be available in all the places where waste is generated. Only by following all processes can accurate, end-to-end track and trace documentation be provided.
In the UK the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has an active role in offering guidance, inspection and enforcement. Organisations exist with similar roles in other countries.
ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT can involve chemical processing of some types of clinical waste, followed by deep burial.
OFFENSIVE WASTE (formerly known as ‘Sanpro’) is the fastest growing new healthcare waste processing category.
Much of what is now designated ‘Offensive Waste’ would in the past have been classified as ‘Clinical Waste’ and put through the incineration process. Waste Streaming makes this possible.
