How Is Medical Waste Treated and Where Does It Go?

You may be wondering where medical waste goes and how billions of pounds of potentially dangerous waste are treated. There are set regulations on how infectious and non-infectious waste goes through various treatments before going to a landfill. After the proper treatment, that’s the time it can go to a landfill together with non-infectious waste.

Listed are the four types on incineration:

• Fixed Grate- This type was formerly in apartments, but they are used as waste compactors now. It has a low ash pit with a cell lined with bricks on top.
• Fluidized Bed- There is a sand bed where robust air flows and forces through. Mixing and churning of waste happens because there is a separation of air
• Moving Grate- It is commonly used for community waste. It has racks that gradually go through a grate.
• Rotary Kiln- Used by industrial plants and towns, this type makes use of lined cylinder tubes.

This method is used to treat biological and medical waste. It is a pressure chamber that uses chemical vapors and saturated steam, which have high pressure. The temperature used is 121 degrees celsius. Usually, an interval of 15 to 20 mins is used, but it depends on how much waste is going to be autoclaved.

Microwaving
This is an effective way to sterilize medical waste produced on-site. Aside from being efficient, it is also cost-effective. It can clean needles, syringes, surgical tools, and liquids.