Waste management is one of the striking issues today. It is not only causing harm to the environment but is causing detrimental disease in humans.
Biomedical waste is one of the most noxious and heinous wastes, that is usually damped in open places by large medical facilities. Ethically, morally, and legally, the waste should be properly disposed of, but there seems to be a great fluctuation in handling the waste, especially in third world countries. But it is slight of a better situation in developed countries as the United Kingdom. While most large companies have waste management departments of their own, small and medium-sized companies can opt for cheap small skip hire, which is absolutely the best option to act as responsible citizens.
What is Biomedical Waste Management?
Biomedical waste management is a process of treating biomedical waste that mostly originates from medical facilities like hospitals and laboratories. The treatment solutions culminate the risk of infections from waste that can cause health and environmental hazards.
Types of Biomedical Waste Management:
Some of the types of biomedical waste disposal are:
Autoclaving:
Autoclaving is a process of biomedical waste treatment which involves steam sterilization. It is considered a simple and cost-effective technique of removing infections from waste. The process is carried out by introducing waste to very hot steam for a specific time. The high temperature of steam kills all the microorganisms. As a result, the waste becomes sterilized. It is the most viable procedure as it is very easy to do, and it does not cause any detrimental health risk. Therefore, most of the waste is sanitized using this approach before they are sent to the landfills.
Incineration:
Incineration is the process of burning biomedical waste. This process is very easy and simple to not only kill microorganisms but eradicate the waste completely. But because not all material can be burned, the quality of waste is checked before they are incinerated. Also, the waste is checked for the kind of emissions that it produces; because there is a little waste that causes very toxic emissions. However, it is not a good choice because it creates air pollution.
Chemicals:
One of the biomedical waste disposal methods to sanitize liquid waste is to disinfect them with a chemical. Chlorination, one of the popular methods of purifying all kinds of liquid is used in this process. It kills all the microorganisms and pathogens which are responsible for causing infections and diseases.
Microwaving:
Microwaving is a process that includes shredding waste and mixing it with water. That solution is then heated at a high temperature to kill microorganisms. The process of shredding helps in decreasing the volume of the waste which consumes little space in the landfill. However, it is also a fact that it requires lots of energy to carry out this process. So, it is not a cost-effective and easy process to carry out.
Kinds of Biomedical Waste in the UK:
The UK government categorizes biomedical waste in the following categories:
Infectious waste:
It is the waste that creates from the treatment of people or such waste that is contaminated with infections.
Cytotoxic/Cytostatic waste:
Any waste that contains cytotoxic medicine or drugs that are mixed with carcinogenic medicines.
Medicinal Waste:
It is any waste that contains non-cytotoxic drugs or medicines.
Offensive waste:
Waste of humans or animals that may contain blood, body parts, or organs, etc.
Bottom Line:
With the growing population and set of medical facilities, the number of biomedical waste is increasing. Biomedical waste has negative repercussions on human health and the environment; therefore, we must ensure that the waste that goes into the landfill is properly managed.
