Tools to evaluate hospital waste management

Abstract

Background: Medical waste has a direct impact on public health and the environment as they are carriers of diseases and infections. Ecological thinking and the new parameters of green science require implementing measures that reduce the risk of infection and negative impact on the environment. Experts say that the products and technologies used in the health system have contributed to the deterioration of the environment by the production of large quantities of hazardous substances.

Although there are several guidelines and regulations for the correct management of hospital waste, it is necessary to generate tools for the evaluation of the practices regarding the treatment of clinical waste from the moment of its generation until the moment of its elimination, in order to guarantee correct handling of the waste in accordance with the established guidelines.