Abu Dhabi: "Abu Dhabi has rigorous standards on medical waste disposal, which are set according to international best practices, and we follow these to the tee,” says Manju Mathew, infection preventionist, Al Tawam Hospital Al Ain.

“Waste is categorised, collected and either incinerated or sent to the landfill, depending on how infectious it is considered to be,” she said.

“Highly infectious items, such as excess blood, laboratory and anatomical wastes, are for example, collected in thick red bags. These are then sterilised in the autoclave, a heated container in which the wastes are exposed to high pressures and temperatures - above 100 degrees Celsius - to destroy harmful bacteria,” she said.

According to Mohammad Saber, housekeeping officer at Tawam Hospital, red trash disposal bags are usually placed in labour and delivery wards, operation theatres and some laboratories.

“Our housekeeping staff, all of whom wear personal protective equipment like gloves and masks, collects these bags in a trolley when they are about 60 per cent full. The bags are then disposed of in an 800-litre garbage room container, and moved to two cold rooms where temperatures are maintained below five degrees Celsius,” Saber said.

Emission rates

Separate procedures apply for radioactive medical wastes, generated from radiotherapy for cancer patients. These are stored securely for about a week to allow their emission rates to reach lower, safer levels before they are incinerated, Mathew said.

The pre-disposal guidelines that are followed have been set by the Federal Authority of Nuclear Regulation.

The large bins which store all the different types of waste are eventually collected by waste disposal firms, six at a time, and taken to incineration facilities.

“On average, nearly 65 to 70 kilograms of waste is taken for incineration each month, although the amount tends to be lower during the month of Ramadan,” Saber said.

But not everything is incinerated. “Domestic and non-hazardous wastes are collected in black bags and eventually disposed of in a landfill by Centre of Waste Management contractors,” Mathew said.

Safety practices

A final category, known as confidential patient waste, includes documents and paperwork with patient information. These are first amassed in green bags and then shredded, before being sent to landfills.

To prevent improper disposal practices, cleaning personnel always tag each bag collected with the location, date and time, Saber said.

“This way, we can identify any errors in segregation, and educate the personnel accordingly,” he added.

Meanwhile, hospital staff and medical practitioners are also trained regularly about procedures, and posters with waste disposal procedures are affixed,

Asked about how the hospital works to reduce waste generation, Mathew said proper segregation is key.

“It is difficult to completely limit the amount of waste generated, but segregation helps in recycling. In contrast, when items that can be recycled are not stored separately, they may simply be incinerated without need,” she explained.

“In addition, if waste meant for the landfill is mixed with medical waste, it appears as if we are producing more waste than we are in reality,” she added.