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Waste Management & Research
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What's this?

An overview of arisings and large-scale treatment technologies for healthcare waste in the United Kingdom

Terry L. Tudor

SITA Centre for Sustainable Wastes Management, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK, terry.tudor{at}northampton.ac.uk

William K. Townend

Centre for Environmental Control and Waste Management, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK

Christopher R. Cheeseman

Centre for Environmental Control and Waste Management, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK

Jen E. Edgar

Robens Centre for Public Health, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK

This paper reviews the current generation and management of healthcare waste in the United Kingdom, with a focus on that produced from healthcare provision in the National Health Service. While the current capacities of large-scale off-site treatment systems are adequate, there are a number of logistical factors that must be considered in future. These include variations in arisings from each country and from various regions within each country, the age and location of treatment/disposal facilities, the quantities, types and sources of healthcare waste, and the impact of waste minimization and recycling strategies. Managing UK healthcare waste is a complex issue that requires the correct technologies and capacities to be available. With increasing quantities and costs there is urgent need for future planning, and healthcare waste issues need to be addressed from a UK-wide perspective. Holistic strategies need to incorporate both minimization and segregation, with treatment using a combination of incineration and alternatives treatment technologies. The need for more research and accurate data to provide an evidence-base for future decision-making is highlighted.

Key Words: Hazardous healthcare waste • medical waste • hospital waste • clinical waste • alternative treatment technologies • incineration • thermal treatment • wmr 08—0181

This version was published on June 1, 2009

Waste Management & Research, Vol. 27, No. 4, 374-383 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0734242X09336244
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