Alternatives for treatment and disposal cost reduction of regulated medical wastes.

Summary/Excerpts

Multiple methods and techniques to reduce the volume and costs of medication disposal are discussed in this article, which studied regulated medical wastes (RMWs) in three Massachusetts hospitals. Appropriate sorting of waste, along with using on-site incineration combined with microwaving, proved to be the most cost-efficient route of disposal. The article mentions that there is no federal standard methodology for classifying waste; rather, it happens at a state level and suggests having a total of four categories, with three including special wastes categorized as infectious, pathological, and radioactive waste, and having a separate category for general waste. 

 

Key Statistics

The United States of America is considered to be the world’s top medical waste-producing nation, with an annual production of over 3.5 million tons of medical waste and an average disposal cost of $790 per ton.

Citation

Lee B.K., Ellenbecker M.J., Moure-Ersaso R. Alternatives for treatment and disposal cost reduction of regulated medical wastes. Waste Manag. 2004;24:143–151. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2003.10.008.

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