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 […]
segregation errors
NICE clinical guideline – primary and community care (waste management)
The National Clinical Guideline Centre has released its latest and probably last draft of its document “Infection: prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections in primary and community care” for pre-publication […]
Sharps injury prevention for hospital workers
A potentially interesting paper published recently in the International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics reports the incidence of sharps injuries in hospital staff in Turkey. Though the journal is […]
Regulator bites!
“Scripps Health and Sharp Memorial Hospital have settled separate civil lawsuits with the county District Attorney’s Office for improperly disposing medical and hazardous wastes, including human blood and tissue, in […]
US hospital saves $100,000 with ‘green’ practices
The Johns Hopkins University Hospital has saved $100,000 over a number of months by reducing its medical waste by 16 percent and by putting it in the correct containers. “Red […]
Cutting through the ….
Advertising flimflam is usually quite obvious. Bold and exaggerated claims and highly selective quotes clipped out of context are usually easy to spot. The law says much about the use […]
Tissue waste disposal
Tissue waste disposal is a sometimes difficult issue, since patients may have their own view on disposal, perhaps of an amputated limb, or of a placenta, than do healthcare professionals. Last […]
£20k savings on clinical waste disposal
Northampton General Hospital claims savings of around £20,000 on clinical waste disposal through their initiatives to drive enhanced source segregation and exclude inapproriate items into clinical waste containers. “We’ve asked […]
Innovative RFID use
RFID devices are not widely used in the UK clinical waste sector. Their potential is considerable, to identify and track individual waste containers, and provide a data framework for billing […]
Pharmaceutical discharges from ATT treatment wastewaters
The possibility of unacceptable pharmaceutical discharges from ATT treatment wastewaters has repeatedly been used as an unacceptable ‘tool’ by EA to maniplulate their regulatory position. Last updated: Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Are safety sharp devices really safe?
A couple of years ago, when the talk about the potential of safety sharp devices in reducing sharps injuries I had a wager with a good friend, that the incidence […]
What’s in that sack?
In a short news report from Gulfport, South Mississippi, several biohazard bags placed into a roadside skip (dumpster) sparked a response from the local Fire & Rescue service. Last updated: […]
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 […]
Reporting of sharps injury – will Council Directive 2010/32/EU help?
Recent reports from New Zealand and Ireland report underreporting of sharps injuries in around one third of doctors and nurses respectively. This is in accord with the many other studies […]
Colour-coded sack holders
Ever since the mis-guided reversal of colour coding for clinical wastes, from red/yellow/Tiger, to yellow/orange/Tiger there has been a plethora of minor publications concerning errors in waste segregation and proposing […]
Clinical wastes at the heart of the community?
Many nursing homes, small clinics and GP surgeries manage their clinical and other wastes in ways that would, should, cross the line toward prosecution. Those wishing to track back through […]
National Guidance for Healthcare Waste Water Discharges
Water UK published on 11th April its National Guidance for Healthcare Waste Water Discharges. The document will be reviewed in detail over the next few days, but a quick glance […]
Demanding the impossible
HTM 07-01 recommends extensive segregation of waste and in their turn the Environment Agency expects that it will happen and penalises waste management operators if it doesn’t. That regulatory stance […]
Bed roll waste
Visiting today a highly regarded NHS Imaging (Radiology) Department – perhaps the biggest in London – I was able to see almost every room and treatment bay ranging from a wide […]
Waste pre-acceptance criteria
I have been asked for views on clinical waste pre-acceptance criteria, and the various layers of EA guidance – it is only guidance and not law, and if a better […]
NHS managers ordered to consider environmental impact
It is reported in today’s Guardian that NHS managers have been “ordered” to consider the environmental impact of their decisions. Last updated: Sunday, April 12, 2020
Waste regulation and risk management?
Waste regulation, particularly that concerning biohazardous wastes, tends to be prescriptive. That approach is, in some part, the foundation of all regulation though perhaps there is need for a real […]
£100,000 for Trust’s clinical waste disposal
It is reported that an Avery Weigh-Tronix weighing system is to be installed at East Kent Hospital Trust with a view to save £100,000 per year on its clinical waste […]
Risk management in waste segregation
Several groups have published on the gains that can be made through more detailed source segregation of wastes. Sadly, the message has generally been overstated by an insistence of a degree […]
Where did all the yellow sacks go?
Some people will remember the appearance of yellow clinical waste sacks in litter bins on railway stations across central and eastern Scotland some years ago. Purchased by “mistake” – no […]
Nurses on ‘cleanup mission’?
While the environmental pressure group Health Care Without Harm is supporting a group of US nurses to improve source segregation to minimise ‘red bag’ or clinical waste volumes, some tough […]
Impact of segregation errors
There are many impacts to errors in waste segregation and the failure to adequately separate individual waste streams. These include additional costs in disposal, materials wastage, regulatory intervention and penalties […]