How Incinerators Help Hospitals Manage Waste
Image via DALL-E
Waste disposal is one of the top concerns for hospitals. Beyond the typical garbage—food scraps, paper, metal, and plastics—hospitals also produce hazardous materials that require incineration for disposal. These materials are often stored in large wheelie bins to ensure safe and efficient handling before they are transported for proper incineration. Infectious waste goes in identifiable red bags or similar containers. Dressings, swabs, bed sheets, and patient garments may be non-infectious but are often past the point of laundering or reuse. Here’s how incinerators help hospitals manage waste.
Safety First
Fire and extreme heat are often the best, and sometimes only, way to ensure infectious waste can’t harm anyone. Used medical supplies that are not thoroughly destroyed can lead to further infections, now or in the future. Luckily, incineration kills pathogens and reduces medical waste into harmless (and, as we’ll see later, useful) ash.
Keeping It Compact
Trash takes up space. We must store garbage in isolated places until we discover an affordable way to jettison our waste into the sun. However, waste management can cost a pretty penny. Even "safe" waste disposal requires people to collect, compact, transport, and dispose of it in overflowing landfills. Incineration turns waste into ash that occupies less space in vehicles and landfills.
Useful Waste
Ash from incineration doesn’t always have to end up in a landfill. We can actually use it in various construction projects. Medical waste ash can be used to create roads and highways, as bulk fill to raise ground levels, for lightweight blocks in buildings, and for pavement projects! Parlay your facility’s waste into profitable and creative alternatives.
Trash and Treasure
Hospitals safely dispose of medical waste by destroying useless waste while omitting recyclables. Metal from sharps and other tools has a higher melting point than most medical waste and is left behind after incineration. Recycling metal, plastics, and glass is a green practice that reflects well on your facility.
We’ve explored how incinerators help hospitals manage waste and pointed out a few benefits. Explore all your options in waste disposal, but remember that incineration is the best way to keep your patients, doctors, and community healthy.
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