Couch rolls
I had the misfortune of a hospital appointment yesterday, for a series of tests that too place in a modest sized room equipped with an examination couch and a whole […]
recycling
‘Clinical waste’ finding its way to plastic vendors?
The Indian campaigning group Safenviron claims that untreated clinical and related wastes wastes are finding their way to plastic recycling vendors without first being made safe. “Medical needles, saline bottles, […]
Recycling operation halted by needle finds
A Fife recycling plant was brought to a standstill when a sharps bin was found on the picking line. Of course, that should not happen, and those involved are right to […]
Gloves come in pairs. Wear both of them!
“A worker at Dunedin’s recycling plant is facing a nervous six-month wait for blood test results after being pricked by a discarded syringe. “The incident happened as the woman worked at […]
Source segregation – getting the process right
Much is said about source segregation of waste from clinical areas. A sometimes apoplectic response can be expected when inappropriate general waste items are found in an orange or yellow clinical waste […]
No wonder it’s so bad
Clinical waste management in the clinical environment should be managed to an exemplary standard in order to maintain hygiene standards and eliminate the hazards associated with sharps and sharps injury. But is that […]
Recycling with sponsorship
The beleaguered NHS wastes money with a passion but is nonetheless underfunded and chronically short of resources. Healthcare waste management reflects this, with much waste of material and cash resources […]
Redistributing unwanted pharmaceuticals
Vast quantities of pharmaceuticals are wasted each year, primarily as unwanted ‘trade’ samples and surplus or date-restricted stocks held by small dispensaries. Leaving aside the matter of excreted drug substance […]
US medical ‘trash’ saving lives abroad
Doctors will often prepare for surgical procedures by opening instrument and supply kits that contain up to 100 items. Many of these items, such as scalpels, needles or sponges, go […]
Cremation – who gets the gold?
Gold prices are riding high. With an eye, if not a tooth, on profit nine South Koreans have been arrested for stealing, selling and buying melted gold teeth from cremation […]
Confidential paper disposal
“Confidential patient details were thrown out in the wrong bin at Peterborough City Hospital, breaching data laws. “An investigation has been launched by Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust […]
Are old ideas the best?
Old ideas are often the best, and in the case of clinical waste treatment from sources at University College Hospital London that is undoubtedly true. Many laboratories produce vast quantities […]
US sending its hospital waste to other countries?
A news bulletin reports that Brazil recently received two containers with 45 tons of illegal hospital waste from the US. Inspectors found bed sheets, dressing gowns, pillowcases, aprons, and diapers, along […]
Clinical waste dumped – South Wales
Recycling bins outside the Red Lion pub in Hendy, Carmarthenshire, have been removed after clinical waste was dumped in them. Glass recycling bins were taken away by the council after […]
Placenta recipes
Disposal of placentas is a costly and troublesome undertaking. The numbers are vast. With around 720,000 live births per annum, and a full term placenta weighing around 0.45kg, that is […]
Needles threaten recycling employees
The appearance of used needles in wastes intended for recycling seems to be remarkably common. Why this is so is difficult to define but in the absence of an effective disposal […]
Single use vs reusable sharps containers
In a carefully managed PR release, information of a presentation given at a Chicago environmental meeting reports a claim of reduced CO2 emission and lowered environmental impact from reusable sharps disposal […]
Waste audit
In a nice piece posted recently on editNet, the SRCL sales & marketing director says that many NHS Trusts have traditionally separated out their waste streams because they believe it’s the […]
Local Authority ‘dumps’ clinical waste collections
Ashfield District Council has upset at least one resident by ‘dumping’ clinical waste collections from most households. Over the last five years, one 43 year old resident who spends nine […]
Dental waste
There are some who have one or more gold teeth, either through necessity or vanity. The latter group have often been to dentists that have not applied the same rigour […]
Vietnam recycles clinical waste plastics to household utensils
Once more, a story has reached the news of plastics recovered from clinical wastes being recycled to teh manufacture of plastic plates, cups and other utensils. A previous story was […]
Community pharmaceuticals
Supporting effective disposal of pharmaceutical wastes from communities makes a substantial contribution to minimising environmental pollution secondary to disposal via sewer and the survival of pharmaceutical residues in wastewater treatment […]
The Chinese approach to recycling?
The Chinese market for clinical waste management is massive but remains largely unexploited due to the problems associate with breaking into the Eastern market, of attitudes to safe disposal that […]
Diversion of medical waste items to re-use
The composition of mixed clinical waste is highly variable and separaton of individual items for re-use is not practicable without source separation. Though downstream separation of plastics, rubber (latex) and […]
Taking glass out of pathology wastes
The vast majority of pathology laboratory waste can be recycled. It contains a high proportion of plastic and with the exception of glass, not much else. That glass fraction is […]
Sharps waste recycling
Sharps waste recycling, and indeed recycling of materials including ATT-processed plastics, latex and metals from non-sharps waste must be an environmentally sound option when compared with incineration alone. It is […]
UK Government Review of Waste Policy in England 2011
The UK Government Review of Waste Policy in England 2011 is published and accessible at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/2011/06/14/pb13540-waste-review/ Last updated: Sunday, June 29, 2014
Needles discarded into recycling bins
Even a single discarded needle turning up in a recycling bin or found on a picking line can bring things to a shuddering halt. Yet more seriously, it can cause […]
Recycling deal for medical sharps waste
BD, one of the world’s largest sharps and syringe manufacturers, and Waste Management plan a joint venture to recycle medical sharps waste from hospitals. The companies are jointly launching the […]
Manufacturers work to reduce clinical waste
There is much chatter at present, and many glossy advertisements backed up with frothy press releases, to describe the work of a consortium of major medical device manufacturers who promise […]