Biomedical waste management

1. Dr. Arifa Akram Barna
MBBS, MD (Virology)
Department of Virology
Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research
(IEDCR)

2. Waste Management
• Waste management refers to the activities
connected with the collection and disposal of
wastes.
• Waste management comprises the following
activities:
▫ Waste collection
▫ Waste transportation
▫ Waste segregation
▫ Waste recycling
▫ Waste disposal
▫ Waste minimization & control

3. 3
Who’s at Risk ?
• Doctors and nurses
• Patients
• Hospital support staff
• Waste collection and disposal staff
• General public and
•the Environment

4. Biomedical/Microbiological Waste
"Bio-medical waste“ means any waste, which is
generated during the diagnosis, treatment or
immunisation of human beings or animals or
in research activities or in the production or
testing of biologicals.

5. Types:

6. Steps in BMW management

7. Infectious/contaminated waste
A. Non degradable
1. Sharp
Hypodermic needles, scalpels, broken lab glassware & Plastic ware,
blades
2.Non Sharp
Syringes,infusion sets, ELISA plate, ICT, micro centrifuge tube, petri
dish, Vacutainer, plastic tube, Pipette tips, mask, gloves
B. Degradable
Blood , Serum, Plasma, Urine, Stool, Swab, Body fluids, Tissues
and organs

8. Management:
Segregation-
• Puncture-proof colour coded container
• If colour coded container not available then use any
beaker/ bucket containing 0.5% hypochlorite
solution
Processing before disposal
• Sterilize by Autoclave/ 0.5% hypochlorite solution
Transport to the place of disposal
• Solid-Cleanable trolley
• Liquid- Bucket with lid
Disposal
• Incineration / Land fill plastic ware, blades

9. Non infectious household waste
Tissue paper
Management:
Segregation-
• Colour coded container
Processing before disposal
• None
Transport to the place of disposal
• Cleanable trolley
Disposal
• Incineration / Land fill/ Municipal disposal

10. Chemical waste
• Non-hazardous
• Management- directly dispose into trash

11. Hazardous if it has at least one of the following
properties :
• corrosive (acids and bases):HCL, NaoH
• Flammable: alcohol, ether, acetone, acetic
acid
• Oxidizer: conc. H2O2, KMno4, bleach
• Air or water reactive: zinc dust, magnesium
metal
• Toxic (poisons, carcinogens, mutagens):
mercury, formaldehyde, EtBr.

12. Management:
• keep in a separate, sealable container with
labeling of chemical waste
• dilute strong acid and base into neutral pH and
disperse into sewerage system**
• dilute formalin in water and disperse into
sewerage system
• ethidium bromide in electrophoresis gel-
<1%- lab trash
>1%- keep in biohazard bag and incinerate

13. Wastes with high content of heavy metal
• broken thermometers
Management:
• buried in deep landfill

14. Radioactive waste
• Unused substances from radiotherapy or
laboratory research,
• contaminated glassware,
• packages or absorbent paper;
• urine or excreta from patients treated or tested
with unsealed radioactive substance
Management:
• Follow individual laboratory’s own system for
disposal of radioactive waste

15. Yellow Dustbin & Bags
From OT: Amputated Limbs, Placenta,
Intestine, Uterus , Ovary etc.
From Labs: Live or Attenuated vaccines,
Infected Samples and cultures, Culture
Plates, Wastes from production of Biologicals,
Toxins.
MANAGEMENT OF HOSPITAL WASTE

16. Red Dustbin & Bags
Cotton pads, Swabs, Gauge Pieces,
Dressings, Bandages, Cloths,
Bedsheets and Plaster castes Soiled
with blood, Pus, Vomits, Sputum and
other Body Fluids.
MANAGEMENT OF HOSPITAL WASTE

17. Wastes comprising of out dated,
contaminated and discarded
medicines, solid chemicals used
for disinfection in Lab & Hospitals
as insecticides
Black Dustbin & Bags

18. Blue Dustbins & Bags
Needles, Scalples, Blades, Glass
ampoules and Syringes etc. that
may cause puncture and cuts. This
includes both used and unused
sharps

19. May also be put for
All disposable items like I.V.Sets,
S.V.Sets, Venflon, Catheter, I.V.Fluid Bottles
Uro-bags, Ryles tube, Drainage Tube and
Bags, Empty blood bags and Dialysis and
other plastic disposable.
A separate Blue Dustbins & Bags

22. Standard Operating Procedure for waste
segregation and disposal
Procedure
A. Non-infectious waste disposal
▫ These include papers, packaging boxes, plastic
bags and hand paper towels.
▫ Dispose these items in black or white
polythene bags inserted in 10L plastic buckets
without a lid.
▫ Remove filled bags and replace them with new
ones ready for the following day work.

23. B. Infectious waste disposal
[Do not store infectious waste in corridors or stairwells]
▫ Seal used tubes, plastic Pasteur pipettes, pipette tips,
gloves, cotton, paper towels, specimen containers and
cultures for discard in double biohazard bags.
▫ Place all infectious waste in designated red, rigid bags
placed in step-on lidded waste bins that are clearly
labeled with the biohazard symbol.
▫ Seal off with tape, when the bags are three-quarter
full.
▫ Carefully take the sealed bags to the autoclave room
and autoclaved.
▫ After autoclaving, bio hazard bags containing reusable
lab ware are safe to open and clean and take non-
reusable waste for incineration.

24. C. Disposal of sharps
▫ Sharps include used needles, surgical knives or
broken bottles
▫ Do not mix sharps with papers or non-sharps
infectious waste
▫ Put a properly labeled sharps container in place
and used exclusively for the disposal of sharps.
▫ Discard used needles immediately into the sharps
container.
▫ Pick broken glass scattered on the floor with aid of
special forceps or swept into a special receptacle
and then emptied into the sharps container
▫ Autoclave sharps containers when ¾-full and then
sent for incineration.

25. Liquid medium and solutions
• Add to a container of bleach solution
• Leave for approximately 20 minutes
• Pour disinfected liquids down the drain.
• If using any disinfectant other than bleach,
which may not be appropriate to pour down the
drain, contact Environmental Safety for safe
disposal options

26. Contaminated PPE
• All disposable, contaminated PPE is disposed in
a biohazard waste container.
• Autoclave before final disposal.
• Decontaminate by submerging the reusable
items in 0.5% hypochlorite solution for at least
30 minutes (preferable over night), then
autoclave before use.

27. Personnel safety devices
The use of protective gears should be made mandatory for
all the personnel handling waste.

28. Bio Medical Wastes:
Segregate and
Pack it right at the
point of Generation

29. Storage of waste
• Holding of biomedical waste for such period of
time, at the end of which waste is treated and
disposed of.
• Safe from tampering and access to rag-pickers.
• Not beyond a period of 48 hours.
• Biohazard symbol

30. Bio Medical Wastes Collection &Transport

31. CONCLUSION
If we want to protect our
environment and health of
community we must sensitize
ourselves to this important issue
not only in the interest of health
managers but also in the interest of
community.