Poor Medical Waste Management Around the Globe

In our own country, proper medical waste disposal is a problem. However, what we deem a problem, is more of a catastrophe for some countries around the globe. Although only 20% of waste produced by healthcare industries is actually hazardous, this adds up to a large number when you consider the volume of waste from healthcare facilities around the world. And we don't just include hospitals. Laboratories, clinics, mortuary centers, blood banks, and nursing homes need to be factored in as well. A high income country can produce roughly 13 pounds of hazardous waste per person per year.

In these high-income countries, we try to separate non-hazardous from hazardous wastes. We have medical waste disposal companies across the country. But in poorer countries, they don't have the means to properly dispose of medical waste. Everything is just mixed together. Scavenging through waste is a daily occurrence in developing countries too. There is also the manual sorting of medical waste which poses a serious threat to workers. One of the most common ways to become injured or infected with something is through syringes and sharps. Throughout the entire world, 12 million injections are administered. Some scary statistics to consider are the facts that 8-16 million with hepatitis B, 2-4 million with hepatitis C, and 80,000-160,000 with HIV were infected because of unsterilized needles. The reuse of syringes is actually a common practice in many countries.

The most widely used treatment for medical waste disposal is still incinerators, which are simply terrible for the environment. Although there are environmentally friendly alternatives, this again tends to only appear in more developed countries. But why isn't this issue at the forefront? One reason is lack of medical waste management. Poor countries have little to no regulations for disposing of waste. And if they do, they may not enforce them. Another reason is simple lack of knowledge and awareness. If people don't know that medical waste hazards are a serious problem, no one is going do much to solve that problem. Without awareness, funding, and resources, it's not so difficult to see why many countries are struggling with health hazards.

The best way to improve upon these standards is to make countries' governments aware of the issues and to do something about it. Governments need to set up stricter regulations and enforce them. People need to also come up with alternative methods. In the 21st century, we are more than equipped to come up with viable solutions. Medical waste disposal should not be the minor issue it is.


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