Hazardous healthcare waste management in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Hazardous healthcare waste has become an environmental concern for many developing countries including the Kingdom of Bahrain. There have been several significant obstacles facing the Kingdom in dealing with this issue including; limited documentation regarding generation, handling, management, and disposal of waste. This in turn hinders efforts to plan better healthcare waste management. In this paper, hazardous waste management status in the Kingdom has been investigated through an extensive survey carried out on selected public and private healthcare premises. Hazardous waste management practices including: waste generation, segregation, storage, collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal were determined. The results of this study along with key findings are discussed and summarized. In addition; several effective recommendations and improvements of hazardous waste management are suggested.     

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic in medical waste amounts: a case study from a high-populated city of Turkey

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this study, the amount of medical waste generated in a high-populated city in Turkey between January 2018 and August 2021 was evaluated, and the...     

Regional medical waste management in China: a case study of Shenyang

Medical waste management is of great importance due to its potential environmental and public health risks, especially in developing countries where both financial and technological resources on medical waste management are still lacking. Although many studies have focused on country-scaled medical waste management, few have paid close attention to regional (city-scale) management, particularly in China. This paper fills such a gap by employing a case study approach. Due to its representative nature, Shenyang was selected as the case study. After a review of China’s medical waste management, an empirical study in Shenyang was conducted in order to analyze the current state as well as identify key challenges on regional medical waste management. Based upon the local realities and aiming to better manage medical wastes, an integrated medical waste management framework is developed. Such a platform encourages the establishment of a specific medical waste management authority, a city scaled capacity building program on improving the general public’s awareness, an information platform, application of state-of-the-art technologies, as well as creation of an effective financial system. The combination of such initiatives can significantly improve the overall eco-efficiency of medical waste management at the regional level and should be promoted to other developing cities.     

Healthcare waste management: a case study from the National Health Service in Cornwall, United Kingdom

This paper looks at steps taken towards the development of a 10-year strategy for the management of healthcare waste from the National Health Service (NHS) in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The major issues and challenges that affect the management of waste by the NHS, including its organisational structure and collection infrastructure, are outlined. The waste flows of the main acute medical site are detailed, using waste audits of domestic and clinical bags, redundant equipment, bulky waste, and special waste. Some of the common barriers to change, such as staff habits and public perceptions, are also identified. Recommendations are made with respect to improvements in the overall organisational infrastructure and increased localised control. The recommendations also centre around the formation of strategic partnerships, within the site, between sites and at the broader level between the NHS and its surrounding community. An important challenge to be overcome is the need to progress from the concept of "waste management", to one of sustainable decision making regarding resource use, including methods of waste minimisation at the source and recycling. Staff training and awareness underpin several of the short and medium/long term solutions suggested to reduce the waste at the source and recover value from that produced. These measures could potentially reduce disposal quantities by as much as 20-30% (wt.) and costs by around 25-35%.     

A novel methodology for household waste characterization during the COVID-19 pandemic: case study results

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a large number of the world’s cities to establish quarantines. Much has been said about the environmental...     

Characterization of food waste generators: a Hawaii case study

Information on food waste disposal and on recycling methods and recycled amounts is reported. Data were obtained from a mail and phone survey of all licensed food establishments in Hawaii conducted in 2004 and 2005. Of 8253 licensed food establishments, 5033 completed surveys. It was found that relationships exist between food establishment size (measured by the number of meals served per day or the number of employees) and the amount of food an establishment recycled; establishment type and recycling behavior; and establishment type and amount recycled. The amount of food waste recycled in the state of Hawaii was estimated to be 264,000 L/day and annual food waste generation was estimated to be 336,000 tonnes.     

Hospital waste management and toxicity evaluation: a case study

Hospital waste management is an imperative environmental and public safety issue, due to the waste's infectious and hazardous character. This paper examines the existing waste strategy of a typical hospital in Greece with a bed capacity of 400-600. The segregation, collection, packaging, storage, transportation and disposal of waste were monitored and the observed problematic areas documented. The concentrations of BOD, COD and heavy metals were measured in the wastewater the hospital generated. The wastewater's toxicity was also investigated. During the study, omissions and negligence were observed at every stage of the waste management system, particularly with regard to the treatment of infectious waste. Inappropriate collection and transportation procedures for infectious waste, which jeopardized the safety of staff and patients, were recorded. However, inappropriate segregation practices were the dominant problem, which led to increased quantities of generated infectious waste and hence higher costs for their disposal. Infectious waste production was estimated using two different methods: one by weighing the incinerated waste (880 kg day(-1)) and the other by estimating the number of waste bags produced each day (650 kg day(-1)). Furthermore, measurements of the EC(50) parameter in wastewater samples revealed an increased toxicity in all samples. In addition, hazardous organic compounds were detected in wastewater samples using a gas chromatograph/mass spectrograph. Proposals recommending the application of a comprehensive hospital waste management system are presented that will ensure that any potential risks hospital wastes pose to public health and to the environment are minimized.     

A qualitative descriptive case study on home medical waste management in Brazil

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This work presents a survey on the management of the home medical care waste (HMCW) from the municipality of Caruaru, an important medical and...     

Solid waste management associated with the development of 3R initiatives: case study in major urban areas of Vietnam

The purpose of this article is to describe the application and progress of the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (3R) initiative and its gradual implementation and development in solid waste management in Vietnam through the study of the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) systems of eight major urban cities and provinces. The resulting survey and studies showed that there are big challenges for MSWM in the study areas due to the absence of an appropriate master plan for MSWM; there is a clear need to set up indicators for waste reduction and greenhouse gas emission reduction from waste generators and enterprises involved in MSWM, especially in terms of using 3R activities in the management of industrial waste. The strength and organic combination of institutional frameworks, support measures, and technologies for 3R promotion need to be applied as soon as possible in order to implement MSWM practices using more effective measures; in particular, a reduction in the amount of hazardous substances discarded and improvements in the handling of hazardous waste are required.     

Role of waste management with regard to climate protection: a case study.

According to the Kyoto Protocol and the burden-sharing agreement of the European Union, Austria is required to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the years 2008 to 2012 in order to achieve an average reduction of 13%, based on the level of emissions for the year 1990. The present contribution gives an overview of the history of GHG emission regulation in Austria and identifies the progress made towards the realization of the national climate strategy to attain the GHG emission targets. The contribution uses Austria as an example of the way in which proper waste management can help to reduce GHG emissions. The GHG inventories show that everything must be done to minimize the carbon input due to waste deposition at landfill sites. The incineration of waste is particularly helpful in reducing GHG emissions. The waste-to-energy by incineration plants and recovery of energy yield an ecologically proper treatment of waste using state-of-the-art techniques of a very high standard. The potential for GHG reduction of conventional waste treatment technologies has been estimated by the authors. A growing number of waste incinerators and intensified co-incineration of waste in Austrian industry will both help to reduce national GHG emissions substantially. By increasing the number and capacity of plants for thermal treatment of waste the contribution of proper waste management to the national target for reduction of GHG emissions will be in the range of 8 to 14%. The GHG inventories also indicate that a potential CO2 reduction of about 500 000 t year(-1) is achievable by co-incineration of waste in Austrian industry.     

Source separation of household waste: a case study in China

A pilot program concerning source separation of household waste was launched in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang province, China. Detailed investigations on the composition and properties of household waste in the experimental communities revealed that high water content and high percentage of food waste are the main limiting factors in the recovery of recyclables, especially paper from household waste, and the main contributors to the high cost and low efficiency of waste disposal. On the basis of the investigation, a novel source separation method, according to which household waste was classified as food waste, dry waste and harmful waste, was proposed and performed in four selected communities. In addition, a corresponding household waste management system that involves all stakeholders, a recovery system and a mechanical dehydration system for food waste were constituted to promote source separation activity. Performances and the questionnaire survey results showed that the active support and investment of a real estate company and a community residential committee play important roles in enhancing public participation and awareness of the importance of waste source separation. In comparison with the conventional mixed collection and transportation system of household waste, the established source separation and management system is cost-effective. It could be extended to the entire city and used by other cities in China as a source of reference.     

Health-care waste management in Lao PDR: a case study.

This study investigated the health-care waste (HCW) management at each health-care facility level at two selected sites in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR): Vientiane Municipality; and Bolikhamxay province. It focused on the amount of HCW, its segregation and the factors influencing HCW management, particularly segregation procedures. A high proportion of incorrectly segregated medical waste was found at each level of health-care facility. Re-segregation revealed 39, 62, 57 and 37% at national hospital, provincial hospital, district hospital and health centre level, respectively, was poorly segregated. The mean of generated HCW was 0.62 kg/bed per day (Vientiane Municipality) and 0.38 kg/bed per day (Bolikhamxay) at two study sites. A higher proportion of medical waste (MW) from the inpatient department at the primary health-care level was found. Thus, HCW management at primary health-care facilities needs more attention and should be better understood.     

Developing a master plan for hospital solid waste management: a case study

Disposal of about 1750tons of solid wastes per day is the result of a rapid population growth in the province of Khuzestan in the south west of Iran. Most of these wastes, especially hospital solid wastes which have contributed to the pollution of the environment in the study area, are not properly managed considering environmental standards and regulations. In this paper, the framework of a master plan for managing hospital solid wastes is proposed considering different criteria which are usually used for evaluating the pollution of hospital solid waste loads. The effectiveness of the management schemes is also evaluated. In order to rank the hospitals and determine the share of each hospital in the total hospital solid waste pollution load, a multiple criteria decision making technique, namely analytical hierarchy process (AHP), is used. A set of projects are proposed for solid waste pollution control and reduction in the proposed framework. It is partially applied for hospital solid waste management in the province of Khuzestan, Iran. The results have shown that the hospitals located near the capital city of the province, Ahvaz, produce more than 43% of the total hospital solid waste pollution load of the province. The results have also shown the importance of improving management techniques rather than building new facilities. The proposed methodology is used to formulate a master plan for hospital solid waste management.     

A review of the medical waste management system at Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Medical waste (MW) poses serious threats to environmental and public health. Throughout the world, existing challenges of medical waste management...     

Biomedical solid waste management in an Indian hospital: a case study

The objectives of this study were: (i) to assess the waste handling and treatment system of hospital bio-medical solid waste and its mandatory compliance with Regulatory Notifications for Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, under the Environment (Protection Act 1986), Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Govt. of India, at the chosen KLE Society's J. N. Hospital and Medical Research Center, Belgaum, India and (ii) to quantitatively estimate the amount of non-infectious and infectious waste generated in different wards/sections. During the study, it was observed that: (i) the personnel working under the occupier (who has control over the institution to take all steps to ensure biomedical waste is handled without any adverse effects to human health and the environment) were trained to take adequate precautionary measures in handling these bio-hazardous waste materials, (ii) the process of segregation, collection, transport, storage and final disposal of infectious waste was done in compliance with the Standard Procedures, (iii) the final disposal was by incineration in accordance to EPA Rules 1998, (iv) the non-infectious waste was collected separately in different containers and treated as general waste, and (v) on an average about 520 kg of non-infectious and 101 kg of infectious waste is generated per day (about 2.31 kg per day per bed, gross weight comprising both infectious and non-infectious waste). This hospital also extends its facility to the neighboring clinics and hospitals by treating their produced waste for incineration.     

The impact of the policy of municipal solid waste source-separated collection on waste reduction: a case study of China

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - To fight against environmental pressure arising from growing municipal solid waste (MSW), the program of MSW source-separated collection has been...     

Prediction of heavy metals concentration in the leachate: a case study of Ukrainian waste

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - A lifetime of landfill with the waste composition and conditions specific to big and small towns of Ukraine is reproduced with landfill simulation...     

Report: The assessment of hospital waste management:a case study in Tehran

Hospital waste management is an important process that must be dealt with diligently. The management of hazardous waste material requires specific knowledge and regulations and it must be carried out by specialists in the field. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed the main stages of hospital waste management including separation, containment, removal and disposal of waste materials in public hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). We selected 108 units of six hospitals (three general hospitals and three subspecialty hospitals) from those hospitals supervised by TUMS using the cluster sampling method. The measurement was conducted through a questionnaire and direct observation by researchers. Association analysis was done by statistical tests; Fisher exact test and chi-squared using SPSS software. According to the results obtained by the questionnaire, most of the studied wards scored moderately in terms of quality of their performance in all stages of waste management. About one-fifth of the wards were suffering from poor management of their medical waste and only a minority of wards obtained good scores for managing their waste materials. The findings also revealed significant associations between temporary waste storage and collection and the level of education of the managers (P = 0.040, P = 0.050, respectively). In summary, the study indicated a moderate management in all processes of separation, collection, containment, removal and disposal of waste materials in hospitals with several observed problems in the process.