Sunset Bay Health Campus is committed to the principle that the generation of waste is minimised.
Waste separation is the process of separating wastes at the point of generation and keeping them separate during handling, accumulation, interim storage and transportation.
The principles underlying waste separation are:
Effective waste separation ensures proper disposal pathways for each category of waste, helps protect personnel and reduces costs.
Induction and training is provided to staff.
Staff are required to:
Any queries should be discussed with a supervisor.
Waste is separated into the following types:
Waste that has the potential to cause sharps injury, infection or public offence. It can include sharps and blood-stained waste, human tissue and laboratory waste.
Clinical waste should be handled using the appropriate personal protective equipment.
Waste that is contaminated with cytotoxic, pharmaceutical, chemical or radioactive materials.
Cytotoxic waste
Material that may be contaminated with a cytotoxic drug which has been used in the preparation, transportation or administration of chemotherapy.
Pharmaceutical waste
Includes expired or discarded pharmaceuticals, filters, or other materials contaminated by pharmaceutical products. Excludes cytotoxics.
Chemical waste
Generated from the use of chemicals in medical applications, domestic services, maintenance, laboratories, during sterilisation processes and research.
Radioactive waste
Material contaminated with radioactive substances which arises from medical or research use of radionuclides.
Related waste requires supervision by qualified personnel.
Appropriate personal protective equipment should be correctly worn.
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) should be referred to when handling and disposing of chemical waste.
Any waste that is not classified as clinical or related waste. It includes paper, plastic, glass, liquids and organics.
General waste should be handled with appropriate care.
Materials for recycling should be placed in the appropriate bins.
Housekeeping is responsible for the removal of laundry and bins.
Sharps bins are replaced by housekeeping when three-quarters full. If a new bin is required contact housekeeping.
Colours and symbols for waste bags and containers. |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Type of waste |
Colour of bags/containers |
Colour of letters |
Symbol |
Clinical |
Yellow |
Black |
 |
Cytotoxic |
Purple |
White |
 |
Radioactive |
Black |
White |
 |
General Waste |
Blue |
Black |
|
Linen is handled so that there is the minimum of dispersion of microorganisms. The linen container is taken to the area of collection to reduce linen being transported around the environment.
Soiled linen is placed into bags - either cloth or plastic, depending on the contents. Infectious linen is placed in specially marked plastic bags.
Organisations in the present economic climate try to reduce their waste. They may look at alternative ways of performing a function to try to both reduce waste and therefore save money. They may change to a company that supplies goods with a reduced amount of packaging or where goods can be recycled. All staff can make a difference to the amount of waste produced by the company. Workers may be able to see innovative methods to structure things differently, or change work practices that also may impact on the waste produced. These ideas need to be discussed with the supervisor to check their viability.
