By: Erin Kim
From pills, vaccinations, shots, gloves, masks, and gowns, to tissues and organs, medical and laboratory technology has advanced to conventionally aid us in every way possible. After their trustworthy assistant, however, where do they end up? Where do the empty shots, leftover pills, expired medicine, and more go?
Any waste that derives from medical or laboratory origin is classified as medical waste. The wastes from hospitals, laboratories, mortuaries, nursing homes, blood banks, and human and animal testing research centers, are all catalysts to major environmental issues. Small, seemingly insignificant pieces of medication influence agricultural lands, marine life, and human and animal health. Failing to eradicate medical waste may indirectly pose health risks to humans and the environment by releasing toxic pollutants and potentially still-surviving viruses and pathogens. Chemical and toxic substances can contaminate drinking water and sources of agricultural lands, ultimately entering the human food chain. If not taken care of properly, resources that are initially used to benefit the health of the public can backfire and lead to health degradation instead. When waste materials that mostly consist of plastic and sharp materials enter the rivers and oceans, aquatic life and organisms experience great threats regarding their lives and food chains.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), medical waste can be categorized into 8 groups:
Infectious waste: discarded diagnostic materials, or materials used for treating infected patients, animals, and autopsies.
Pathological waste: contaminated human and animal tissues and organs.
Sharp waste: syringes, needles, scalpels, blades.
Chemical waste: solvent and reactants for laboratory use, leakage of heavy metals through damaged thermometers and batteries.
Pharmaceutical waste: expired, contaminated drugs and vaccines.
Cytotoxic waste: substances with genotoxic properties such as cytotoxic drugs used in cancer treatment.
Radioactive waste: contaminated diagnostic and radiotherapeutic materials
Non-hazardous general waste: medical and laboratory wastes that are not contaminated
Medical waste ends up in landfills, incinerators, or autoclaves, depending on the type of waste. This means that medical waste—which was once meticulously and carefully treated—is disposed of in exposed landfills or burned. Environmental organizations such as WHO are advocating and working to promote more diligent and healthy ways to dispose of medical waste, using tactics such as promoting practices that reduce the volume of waste, developing stronger regulations and restrictions when disposing of waste, selecting relatively environmentally friendly management options, and more.
As strong and active as they were during their lifetimes, medical and laboratory waste should be treated and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. The resources and tools that supply medical and technological development should not be the same resources that toxify our world after use.
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