Save 50% – Call Now 305-677-2343.
Proper medical waste management is something that is becoming more and more of an issue in the United States. However, when it comes to this, we can at least say that we are moving in a good direction, unlike other countries in the world.
When it comes to waste created by healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, only about 20% of it is actually hazardous, but even this number is very high when we know its potential effect on the community and the sheer volume of waste hospitals and other healthcare facilities produce around the globe.
In the US and other high-income countries, hazardous and non-hazardous waste is segregated and it is done by professional waste disposal companies. However, the situation is much different in countries with poorer economies.
These countries usually don’t have a proper system of medical waste disposal and scavenging through waste is also not uncommon.
In addition to these problems, medical waste management in low-income countries is often done manually. This, of course, considerably increases the likelihood of infection and injury for the worker.
According to some studies, of 12 billion injections administered around the world:
• 8 to 16 million are with hepatitis B
• 2 to 4 million with hepatitis C
• 80,000 to 160,000 are infected with HIV
And all because the needles are unsterilized. Not to mention that you could also receive a reused syringe in some of these countries.
Incinerators are Still the Most Often Used Method of Medical Waste Disposal
Although there are clear movements toward safer and more effective methods of waste removal in developed countries, in the majority of the world incineration is still the most often used one, sometimes the only available.
The biggest problem with incineration as a medical waste removal method is that it is unsafe for the environment, especially as it releases toxic chemicals in the air.
Why is the question of medical waste management so forgotten in most poor countries? Does the reason lie in the lack of technology and trained workers?
While these two are without a doubt factors, the biggest problem lies in the lack of regulations for waste removal. This is something that not many poor countries have made an effort to change. Even in the countries that have such laws concerning medical waste disposal, the government and relative bodies don’t enforce the regulations as much as they should.
Of course, enforcing regulations can only take you so far when it comes to battling this problem. If the population is not aware of the problem and the healthcare industry in the country is still not concerned with it, there is little that an occasional fine can accomplish.
This problem can be significantly reduced by making their governments conscious of it. They need to start enforcing more stringent regulations. Also, they need to be aware of better methods for doing this. On the other side, the population also needs to be educated about the dangers of improper medical waste disposal.
