Report: Efficient Garbage Disposal in Canadian Healthcare Settings

This report investigates efficient garbage disposal practices in Canadian healthcare settings, emphasizing biomedical waste management. It highlights the critical importance of proper waste segregation, packaging, treatment, and disposal to minimize risks to patients, healthcare workers, and the environment. The report discusses the composition of biomedical waste, including sharps, bodily fluids, and anatomical waste, and underscores the hazards associated with improper handling. It proposes interventions such as color-coded segregation, appropriate packaging, and treatment methods like steam autoclaving and chemical decontamination. The use of incinerators as the preferred disposal mechanism is also recommended. The report compares the outcomes of effective waste management with the consequences of poor practices, such as increased hospital-acquired infections, pollution, and disease transmission. It concludes by emphasizing the need for efficient biomedical waste management to improve patient safety, reduce environmental impact, and control the spread of diseases within healthcare facilities. The report references relevant sources to support its findings and recommendations.

Running head: GARBAGE DISPOSAL
Efficient Garbage Disposal in Canadian Healthcare Settings
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

GARBAGE DISPOSAL
Efficient Garbage Disposal in Canadian Healthcare Settings
Poor waste disposal management in health care settings can be a serious concern for
the health sector. Globally poor implementation and underfunding of healthcare waste
management is increasing the threat to patient’s safety and health outcome, which ultimately
leads to increase in hospital-acquired infections (Makajic-Nikolic et al., 2016). The following
section of the paper will find an evidence-based practice to support efficient garbage disposal
intervention in health care settings.
Population- Biomedical Waste Collection of the Entire Health Care Facility
A very small proportion of the waste, that is, around 10 to 15% of the total waste
generated by a health care setting is a biomedical waste. Biomedical waste is usually
generated in the form of waste sharps, human body blood and fluid waste, microbiology
laboratory waste and human anatomical waste (Ccme.ca., 2019). Biomedical waste requires
special attention while disposal due to their occupational concerns, aesthetic, environmental
and human health risks associated with it (Shikoska et al., 2016). They pose a serious hazard
to the patients, the health care workers and the rest of the stakeholders of the health care
settings.
Intervention- Segregation, Packaging, Treatment, and Disposal of Biomedical
waste
Biomedical waste management in health care settings requires critical intervention to
help increase the efficiency in the biomedical waste disposal and reduce the associated risks.
The intervention includes proper segregation of biomedical waste, their packaging, treatment
and finally, disposal with suitable mechanisms. In segregation, proper isolation of biomedical
waste from general garbage will be ensured. To safely contain the biomedical waste, the
packaging should be proper. Regular disinfection and inspection for leaks of reusable
containers are ensured. Color coding is achieved for proper segregation and packaging,

GARBAGE DISPOSAL
denoting red for human anatomical waste, orange for animal waste, and yellow for waste
sharps, human body fluid and blood wastes, and microbiology lab wastes. Steam autoclaving
and chemical decontamination of the collected biomedical waste is the preferred treatment
option before disposal. The best disposal mechanism of biomedical waste is making the use
of incinerators.
Comparison
Improper biomedical waste management caused several issues such as increased risk
to human health, environmental pollution, and occupational concern. The patients were at
increased risk of suffering from hospital-acquired infections. After the implementation of the
intervention, a significant reduction in the pollution and contamination of water & air, a
reduction in the incidence of hospital-acquired infections, and improvement in patient safety
and health outcome are observed.
Outcome
With the improvement in the biomedical waste management in Canadian health care
settings, 10 to 30% reduction in the incidence of hospital-acquired infection cases has been
observed. The entire health care setting remains clean and free from any risk induced by the
generation of biomedical waste. Disease transmission rates drop to zero with the
implementation of efficient biomedical waste management techniques in the health care units.
Conclusion
Biomedical waste management is becoming a serious concern in Canadian health care
settings. Ineffective biomedical waste management leads to consequences such an increased
incidence of hospital-acquired infections in the patient, environmental issues, and increased
transmission of disease in the health care setting.

GARBAGE DISPOSAL
References
Ccme.ca. (2019). [online] Available at:
https://www.ccme.ca/files/Resources/waste/hazardous/pn_1060_e.pdf [Accessed 24
Jan. 2020].
Makajic-Nikolic, D., Petrovic, N., Belic, A., Rokvic, M., Radakovic, J. A., & Tubic, V.
(2016). The fault tree analysis of infectious medical waste management. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 113, 365-373.
Shikoska, B., Dimova, C., Schumanov, G., & Vankovski, V. (2016). Biomedical Waste
Management. Macedonian Medical Review, 70(1), 1-7.