Medical waste management practices in a Southern African hospital

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to examine the medical waste management practices of a hospital in Southern Africa. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A case study methodology was utilised. FINDINGS: The results revealed that the hospital does not quantify medical waste. Segregation of medical waste into infectious waste and non-infectious waste is not conducted according to definite rules and standards. Separation of medical waste and municipal waste is however practiced to a satisfactory extent. Wheeled trolleys are used for on-site transportation of waste. Off-site transportation of waste is outsourced to a private firm. Incineration is used in the final disposal of infectious waste. Non-infectious waste is disposed using land disposal method. There is no policy and plan in place for managing medical waste. A number of problems were identified with respect to medical waste management. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The paper gives recommendations with the aim of improving medical waste management in hospitals.