What are the main risks of medical waste?

The main risks of medical waste are related to: 

• health risks as health-care waste contains potentially harmful microorganisms that can infect hospital patients, health workers and the general public; 
• the environmental impact: treatment and disposal of healthcare waste may pose health risks indirectly through the release of pathogens and toxic pollutants into the environment. The disposal of untreated health care wastes in landfills can lead to the contamination of drinking, surface, and ground waters if those landfills are not properly constructed. Incineration of waste has been widely practiced, but inadequate incineration or the incineration of unsuitable materials results in the release of pollutants into the air and in the generation of ash residue.

Newster’s Frictional Heat Treatment enables hospitals to process hazardous solid waste in a sustainable and cost-effective way. The patented technology employs the heat generated by the shredding action to sterilize the waste at the same time without POPs emission into the atmosphere. In this way the final residue is dry, sterile and finely ground. As well as meeting the public demand for ecological solutions, this treatment offers other advantages, such as:

• high levels of hospital hygiene and safety;
• elimination of risks caused by infectious waste transportation;
• lower storage and transport costs due to weight and volume reduction;
• lower waste disposal costs;
• use of residue as refuse derived fuel (RDF).