Management of Hospital Wastes in Mashhad

The management of hospital wastes is of high importance, because of their infectious and hazardous potential. This is a cross-sectional study based on questionnaire, interview, observation and meetings performed in major Mashhad Hospitals in 2009. Weight and per capita waste production were determined. Moreover, the status of production, separation, storage, collection, treatment, transportation and disposal of these wastes were also determined. Total active beds in eight surveyed hospital (except Naft Hospital with no information available) were 2833 beds, which produced 8369 kg/d of solid wastes, and the per bed production of wastes was 2.95 kg/d. This growth of hospital waste production per capita is in the median of global waste production per capita and if the growth rate is stable, it is predicted that in 2016 Mashhad hospitals will produce around 20 tons of wastes per day. Based on the quality and quantity of hospital wastes and their environmental effects, separation of infectious and hazardous wastes from ordinary wastes, burning of infectious wastes in a central incinerator outside the city and preferably in municipal wastes landfill, and proper engineered disposal of ordinary wastes and incinerator ash into the landfill were proposed for the better management of these wastes.