Medical waste

Health care waste exposes hospital workers to greater risks than more typical waste-streams, and the staff who regularly handle, clean up, and dispose of these materials bear the brunt of the hazard. Contact with medical waste can lead to injury, exposure to toxic substances, and even infections of all kinds.

Hospitals and laboratories face complex challenges with safe medical waste management. Besides generating recycling, compost, and landfill garbage, these medical centers produce a more regulated type of trash generally called medical waste.

Police, firefighters, EMTs, and other emergency services personnel handle the toughest jobs in our society. They shouldn't have to worry about the risks of waste handling, too. Simply taking out the trash may not seem like a dangerous task, especially for first responders who protect the populace from more direct threats. In fact, though, there are a range of risks that emergency services workers face in the course of day-to-day waste handling.