Medical waste and its proper disposal remain a major concern for America. Here are the primary reasons:
- The safety of healthcare patients and personnel, as well as the legal obligation in handling the waste
- Environmentalists are concerned with the impact of medical waste, whether it’s wasting up on a beach in Jersey Shore or being illegally dumped in landfill sites
- Home producers of medical waste, such as needles and syringes that want to dispose of their tools properly
What Is Medical Waste?
According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the definition of medical waste is fairly broad “all waste materials generated at health care facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, physician’s offices, dental practices, blood banks, and veterinary hospitals/clinics, as well as medical research facilities and laboratories.” It fails to include any organization that produces medical waste such as syringes or needles from their employees or customers, or the home producer for that matter.
How Much Medical Waste Is Produced?
In 2012, the United States spent up to $2.5 billion for the proper disposal of medical waste. Moreover, with annual growth of 4.8%, by 2017 the annual market is expected to $3.2 billion. For instance, consider these medical waste statistics:
- Just hospitals in the U.S. produce more than 5.9 million tons of waste annually
- Hospitals produce 33 lbs.of medical waste per day per staffed bed
- Florida alone has approximately 38,000 facilities that generate biomedical waste
In short, almost all healthcare activities related to humans produce medical waste. So, can you imagine the dangers of what would happen if it was disposed of improperly?
To read the full article, visit www.biomedicalwastesolutions.com.
This content, Medical Waste Disposal – The Definitive Guide, was originally shared by Continuum.