In today’s society, the health care industry produces an excessive amount of waste. Waste is generated from many different ways in hospitals and in health care facilities in the United States as well as internationally. The increased use of disposables and the discarding of unused material from standardized or prepackaged surgical packs contribute to the rise of waste material from the health care industry. The way waste is disposed of is not only hazardous to the health of the general population, but to the environment as well. There is numerous amount of ways to reduce waste production in addition to controlling the way waste is disposed of, both of which will contribute to a “greener”, more sustainable environment. The move towards the
…show more content…
The workers when surveyed, were unaware of the dangers arising from sharps and needles and they did not know the proper protocol for the practice of basic hygiene after the exposure to hazardous medical waste7. In addition, health care facilities did not provide sufficient protective equipment for their employees, which commonly led to accidental injuries and the increased likelihood of disease transmission. Transmission of a disease and the intensification of it may likely stem from the medical waste mismanagement. The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research in Bangladesh (ICDDRB) and the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that among the people living in Dhaka, there is a high incidence of cholera, dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis (infective), dengue, and more7. The higher incidences of these diseases occur in people who live in areas of higher number of hospitals and health care facilities. Toxic medical waste is disposed of into city corporation bins, then into landfill sites, which ultimately contaminates water and soil in the ground (especially the lower-lying areas that are frequently flooded)7. If toxic medical waste was not disposed of in landfill sites, it was often repackaged and …show more content…
Thus, scavengers and recycling companies were able to readily access the waste to repackage and to resell. Items such as syringes, saline bags, and even expired pharmaceuticals were repackaged and resold to the general public7. This kind of contaminated syringe recycling creates a cycle of disease transmission, often transmitting diseases such as HBV, HCV, and HIC
The workers when surveyed, were unaware of the dangers arising from sharps and needles and they did not know the proper protocol for the practice of basic hygiene after the exposure to hazardous medical waste7. In addition, health care facilities did not provide sufficient protective equipment for their employees, which commonly led to accidental injuries and the increased likelihood of disease transmission. Transmission of a disease and the intensification of it may likely stem from the medical waste mismanagement. The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research in Bangladesh (ICDDRB) and the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that among the people living in Dhaka, there is a high incidence of cholera, dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis (infective), dengue, and more7. The higher incidences of these diseases occur in people who live in areas of higher number of hospitals and health care facilities. Toxic medical waste is disposed of into city corporation bins, then into landfill sites, which ultimately contaminates water and soil in the ground (especially the lower-lying areas that are frequently flooded)7. If toxic medical waste was not disposed of in landfill sites, it was often repackaged and …show more content…
Thus, scavengers and recycling companies were able to readily access the waste to repackage and to resell. Items such as syringes, saline bags, and even expired pharmaceuticals were repackaged and resold to the general public7. This kind of contaminated syringe recycling creates a cycle of disease transmission, often transmitting diseases such as HBV, HCV, and HIC