Healthcare Waste Report - Environment Health

Bags for the storage and transport of clinical
waste are to conform to the following
standards:
Bags with low density material
are to be of 55 microns or 25
microns if of high density
materials or of equivalent
standard of the container.
Storage bags should fit the
container properly.
Clear marking of ownership,
biohazard symbol and route of
disposal are to be made on the
bags.
Yellow bags used for healthcare
waste are generally of capacity 5,
10, 30 and 100 litre.
Double bags are recommended to be used for
healthcare waste from high risk areas, such as
infectious diseases and quarantined nursing
units, labour rooms and operation theatres.
Infectious wastes from laboratory are to be
autoclaved in blue bags and then packed into
yellow bags before transferring them to
wheeled bins. Yellow bags and wheeled bins
used for collecting and transferring non
infectious healthcare waste in Malaysia are
shown in Figure below.
Plastic bags and wheeled bins with
non-infectious healthcare waste
Bins or drums are used for the disposal of
syringes and needles, broken glasses, ampoules
and other sharp objects. Bins commonly used
for sharps are sealable, single-use polyethylene
(or polypropylene) and are incinerated
together with their content. Sizes of bins vary
between 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 litre. Smaller bags
and bins are used in the wards while bigger
sizes are used in operation theatres, emergency
and labour rooms.
Special requirements are imposed by the
Department of Environment (DoE) on the
storage period of healthcare and hazardous
waste. Healthcare wastes are to be stored in
specially designed cold rooms if the storage
period is for more than 48 hours, with a
maximum storage of 72 hours prior to
incineration. Hazardous chemical wastes can
be stored at user’s premises for less than six
months.
Specially designed and approved trucks are
used to transport all the healthcare waste.
Operators of the vehicle are to obtain special
permits before using the vehicle for
transportation of healthcare waste.
Transportation schedules are carefully
arranged so that no clinical waste is stored for
more than 48 hours at the healthcare facilities.
As per the Environmental Quality Act and
Regulation, a consignment note has to be
submitted by operators to ensure that all
clinical waste generated from healthcare
facilities reach the approved disposal sites.
51 HEALTHCARE WASTE IN ASIA: INTUITIONS & INSIGHTS