There are several different ways to dispose of medical waste, but incineration is one of the safest and most effective.

Safe treatment and disposal of medical waste is a major challenge facing the medical industry. Medical waste can be very dangerous and needs to be treated effectively in one way or another before it can be disposed of in a sanitary landfill.

It can contain many microbial spores that are difficult to destroy. But one of the best ways to safely handle and dispose of medical waste is incineration.

Benefits of incineration of clinical waste

Medical waste incinerators use controlled combustion in secure units to safely destroy most types of medical waste. Despite negative perceptions of combustion, incineration is one of the most effective and efficient technologies for the treatment of medical waste from an engineering point of view.

It has many benefits:

1. No pretreatment is required, only a small amount of sorting is required, and most medical waste can be incinerated immediately

2. It eliminates pathogens, including hard-to-kill bacteria

3. It breaks down and neutralizes harmful organic chemicals

4. The amount of garbage in landfills has decreased dramatically, often by 80 percent or more

5. The final product is completely sterilized and treated

6. With the right equipment and safe techniques, very little gas will be reduced to the atmosphere

7. Professional incinerators can also recapture the energy generated by combustion to heat the boiler and provide electricity and hot water to the facility

The challenge of burning

Understandably, incineration has been widely used for waste disposal, including household, hazardous and medical waste — but there is growing public concern about the benefits of burning waste versus the health risks of pollutants released during combustion. There are strict regulations on emissions from medical incinerators around the world.

Without the right type of incinerator, burning medical waste to release toxic gases can be a challenge. All hazardous materials are confined to the ash at the bottom of the incinerator, which can then be disposed of in a sanitary or hazardous landfill. As with any process, good operating procedures are needed to protect workers from the heat of the incinerator unit.

We can’t keep putting the health of our communities, our climate and our environment at risk for the sake of our garbage. It is also important to develop safe methods and technologies for disposing of hazardous medical waste, as opposed to medical waste incineration, which has proven to be ineffective and dangerous. Alternatives to incineration, such as microwave or autoclave, greatly reduce the release of harmful emissions.

Other types of medical waste disposal

There are many other ways to dispose of clinical waste.

1. The microwave oven

2. irradiation

3. vitrification

4. autoclave

5. Mechanical/chemical disinfection

However, these tend to require more effort and investment than incineration, and are usually not as effective. Incineration is one of the safest and most thorough ways to dispose of medical waste. If you would like to know more about our range of medical incinerators and how they can help you safely dispose of medical waste, please contact us now.