Specifications for Different Types of Containers and Label for Hospital Waste

     a.) Sharp Boxes

·      Sharp containers intended to hold potentially infectious hospital waste.

·      It should be capable of being sealed.

·      It should be provided with handle that is not part of the closure device.

·      Proof against punctured by hospital waste materials such as broken glass or syringes.

·    

  Legibly marked with a horizontal line to indicate when the sharp box is filled to between 70% of 80% of its maximum volume.

·      Capable of withstanding one metre vertical drop to a concrete floor without fracture, puncture or loss of content.

·      Colour of being marked by indelible ink and securely attached to labels.

b.  Plastic Bags

·      Red and yellow bags with a maximum normal capacity of 0.1m

·      It should be suitable size and harp to fit the carrier which will support the container or bag in use.

·      Coloured in red with the exception of group A waste should be packed in a black bag.

        

The Pakistani Hospital Waste Management Rule (2005) stated that for effective management of hospital waste. It should be segregated, collected, transported, stored and disposed off in such a way that it will not disposed off in such a way that it will not expose the health of workers and the general public to hazards. Hospital waste is designated as a priority waste stream by the EU which has defined as hierarchy are preferred to those at the bottom.

That the odour of hospital incinerators has resulted in changes in the way hospital waste is managed cost associated with waste are becoming progressively more transparent, leading to an increased interest in its management. The majority of these principles are transferrable to other generators of hospital waste. All hospitals are now required to have a waste strategy (NHS Estate 1995) (Her Audit Commission, 1997) advices that the strategy should be based on two main areas.

The main sources of waste are;

            i.      The transfer of waste

          ii.      The disposal of waste

If hospital waste is properly segregated, handled, transported and disposed off, it can prevent risk to the health and safety of the people at work, members of the public and the environment.

It is no longer possible to mix hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste. So there is need to segregate waste. Hospital waste should be segregated with the recommended colour coding for waste containers for easy identification.

References

Pakistan Hospital Waste Management (2005). www.phe.org.uk