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Health Hazards of Medical Waste and its Disposal 107

− Preventing wastage: in the course of care, for example, or of cleaning
activities.
− Choosing equipment that can be reused such as tableware that can
be washed rather than disposable tableware.
▪ It is prohibited to reuse needles or syringes. The plastic part of
syringes is recycled in some regions, but this practice is not rec-
ommended in ICRC contexts.
• Purchasing policy geared to minimizing risks
− Purchase of PVC-free equipment (choosing PET, PE, or PP)—see
Health-Care Without Harm site.1110.
− Purchase of mercury-free equipment: mercury-free thermometers
(ICRC standards), (mercury-free blood-pressure gauges).
− If possible, purchase of new safe injection and bloodsampling systems
(where the needle is withdrawn automatically).
− Opting for the least toxic products (cleaning products, for example).
• Product recycling
– Recycling of batteries, paper, glass, metals, and plastic.
– Composting of plant waste (kitchen and garden wastes).
– Recycling of the silver used in photographic processing.
– Recovering energy for water heating for example.
• Stock management
− Centralized purchasing.
− Chemical and pharmaceutical stock management aiming to avoid a
build-up of expired or unused items: “first-in—first out” stock man-
agement, expiry date monitoring.
− Choice of suppliers according to how promptly they deliver small
quantities and whether unused goods can be returned.
▪ Health-care waste includes a large component of general waste and
a smaller proportion of hazardous waste. This chapter addresses the
potential hazards of exposure to hazardous (or risk) health-care
waste.

8.5 MINIMUM APPROACH TO OVERALL MANAGEMENT
OF HEALTH-CARE WASTE

All personnel dealing with health-care waste should be familiar with the
main categories of health-care waste as set out in either national or local
regulations on waste classification. As a minimum, managers responsible for
health-care waste should conduct a walk-through of the facility to identify