Infectious Waste: Definition, Examples, and Treatment Options

Did you know that thousands of facilities handle infectious waste every day? From busy hospitals to local tattoo parlors, businesses and healthcare facilities of all kinds are required to manage infectious waste safely to prevent the spread of disease. When your staff are unsure of how to handle the disposal of infectious waste, mistakes can happen, putting everyone at risk.

To minimize safety risks and avoid fines for non-compliance, educating yourself and your staff on proper handling techniques is the best thing you can do. To get you started, this article covers five common types of infectious waste and provides practical methods for disposing of them.

What Is Infectious Waste?

Infectious waste is waste that contains germs that can transmit diseases. It includes materials contaminated with blood and other bodily fluids. Healthcare facilities use color-coded containers for infectious waste-usually red waste containers or bags with biohazard labels-to safely identify and contain these materials.

While federal laws regulate the disposal of infectious waste to some extent, each state has its own set of waste handling laws that must be followed. Proper disposal is essential since infectious waste materials may cause needlestick injuries, transmission of bloodborne infections, and environmental contamination.

How and Where Is Infectious Waste Generated?

Infectious waste is generated in different healthcare and research environments where biological material is handled. Facilities and operations that generate infectious waste include:

• Laboratories where specimens are examined, blood cells are separated, and microorganisms are cultured
• Medical procedures involving invasive techniques that produce blood-contaminated materials, like syringes, surgical instruments, and dressings
• Animal clinics studying or treating animal diseases and generating animal tissues and other contaminated materials as a result
• Blood banks and research facilities working with large amounts of human blood, plasma, and other bodily fluids
• Manufacturing plants that produce vaccines

Each of these facilities must implement strict procedures to correctly identify, segregate, and dispose of infectious waste in accordance with regulatory guidelines.

5 Common Types of Infectious Waste

When dealing with medical waste, knowing which type you’re handling is essential for proper disposal. Here’s a breakdown of the most common types of infectious waste:

1. Sharps

Sharps are any object that can puncture or cut the skin. A couple of examples include needles for giving shots or taking blood and scalpels used during surgery. Even broken glass vials and test tubes count as sharps. Hospitals, blood banks, labs, and research centers all produce sharps waste that needs to be stored in special containers so that accidental injury and infection do not occur.

2. Human and Animal Tissues

This category includes any human or animal tissue that is removed during a medical procedure. For example, organs taken out during surgery, tissue samples taken for biopsies, and specimens collected during autopsies all have the potential to be infectious. These materials need special handling to prevent disease transmission.

3. Bodily Fluids

Bodily fluids like blood, urine, saliva, spinal fluid, and amniotic fluid can be infectious, as can any material contaminated with these substances. Bandages, linens, and testing supplies that come into contact with bodily fluids need to be treated as infectious waste. These fluids can carry deadly bacteria that can cause serious infections if they enter the bloodstream, which is why healthcare workers must use proper PPE when handling them.

4. Isolation Waste

Patients who have highly infectious diseases and are quarantined for the protection of others generate what is known as isolation waste. Everything used in their care-from testing swabs to bedding-is potentially infectious and must be disposed of properly. Specialized waste bags and containers can help prevent these diseases from spreading to healthcare workers or other patients.

5. Lab Waste

This can include materials used to grow, study, and identify disease-causing organisms, such as culture dishes, test tubes, and tools used to transfer samples. These materials are hazardous because they contain concentrated amounts of pathogens and require proper decontamination before final disposal.

How Does Infectious Waste Disposal Work?

Infectious waste should be handled with caution at every stage of disposal. Below are the main processes involved in effectively disposing of infectious waste:

1. Segregation

Proper infectious waste management begins at the segregation phase, where infectious materials are separated from other types of waste. Medical facilities must use government-approved containers to store infectious waste while it awaits treatment. This initial step ensures infectious waste receives the specialized treatment it needs.

2. Storage and Labeling

Infectious waste must be stored in leak-proof, sealable containers that are labeled with the biohazard symbol. For sharps like needles and broken pieces of glass, storage containers need to be puncture-resistant to prevent accidental injuries.

Labels should also include a description of the waste, the accumulation start date, and facility information for tracking purposes. Many containers come with fill lines to help waste handlers determine when a container is full and ready to be sent for treatment.

3. Treatment

There are various treatment options for infectious waste, suited to different amounts and types. The main methods used to treat infectious waste include:

• Incineration: Incineration destroys infectious waste by burning it at high temperatures and is appropriate for large volumes of waste. It reduces waste volume significantly, turning it into sterile ash. In order for infectious waste to be properly incinerated, it needs to be subjected to the right temperatures over an appropriate period of time. Despite requiring specialized equipment and permits, incineration offers the advantage of potential energy recovery through heat capture.
• Autoclaving: Autoclaving decontaminates infectious items by using pressurized steam to kill microorganisms. This method is often used on-site, eliminating the need for infectious waste to be transported to a treatment facility. Certain materials, like animal remains and large amounts of contaminated clothing, are resistant to autoclaving due to their insulating properties, which protect the microorganisms they contain from heat and steam penetration.
• Thermal Inactivation: Unlike autoclaving, thermal inactivation uses dry heat to deactivate pathogens in infectious waste. The process relies on specialized chambers with precise temperature control to treat contaminated materials.
• Chemical Disinfection: Chemical disinfection is the treatment of infectious waste using chemicals such as sodium hydroxide, chlorine, and calcium oxide to deactivate pathogens. On-site treatment saves transportation costs while effectively neutralizing biological hazards. This process serves to decontaminate laboratory equipment, HEPA filters, and mixed waste that contains infectious agents and radioisotopes.
• Irradiation: Irradiation exposes infectious waste to highly controlled gamma rays that kill bacteria. Before treatment, the waste is shredded so that all materials are exposed to uniform radiation. While effective, irradiation is used less often in healthcare settings due to higher implementation costs and complex regulatory requirements.

Let SWI Handle Your Infectious Waste

Every contaminated needle, blood-soaked bandage, and laboratory specimen in your facility requires proper disposal-not just for the sake of compliance, but for the safety of everyone who walks through your doors. SWI can tackle your waste management challenges head-on with our comprehensive collection, transportation, and disposal services that fully adhere to medical waste disposal regulations.

Our trained waste handlers ensure that sharps, pathological waste, and other infectious items are managed safely and responsibly. Take the first step towards compliant infectious waste management by scheduling a consultation with our team. We are more than happy to provide you with a customized disposal solution.