Hospitals generate a variety of different kinds of waste and refuse.

Categorizing hospital waste helps staff keep hospitals clean and sanitary so that diseases and infections do not spread. Hospital waste is broken into five general categories, and each type of refuse is handled with the necessary precautions to help everyone maintain optimal health.

Infectious and Pathological Hospital Waste

Infectious hospital waste includes anything that might carry viruses, fungi, bacteria, or parasites and that could be spread and infect other people or areas of a hospital. Examples of infectious waste include anything that has come into contact with blood or other bodily fluids, cultures of infectious materials from labs, and any other material that has been, or might have been, in contact with infectious material. Pathological material includes tissues, organs fetuses, and other body tissue. About 15 percent of a hospital's waste is made up of infectious and pathological material.

Sharp Hospital Waste

Sharp hospital waste, also called "sharps," include items such as needles, scalpels, broken glass, nails, hypodermic needles, and any other items that can cause puncture wounds or cuts. Some of these items are also classified with infectious waste if they have come in contact with bodily fluid, but because they can be dangerous to handle, they are categorized with the other sharps. About one percent of a hospital's waste is made up of sharps.

Pharmaceutical Hospital Waste

Pharmaceutical waste includes medication, drugs, vaccines, and other chemicals that have expired, been returned, not used, spilled, or contaminated. Anything that has come in contact with these products, like gloves, are also categorized as pharmaceutical waste. Drugs may be in any form, such as liquid or pills, and they can come in boxes or bottles. About three percent of hospital waste is pharmaceutical.

Radioactive Hospital Waste

Radioactive hospital waste is mostly seen in oncological (cancer) wards, where radiation is used as part of the treatment. Radioactive waste makes up less than one percent of hospital waste.

General Hospital Waste

General hospital waste is made up of regular materials, which can be disposed of like household waste-in a city's waste management system. It can include office waste, linens, cutlery, kitchen waste, and anything that does not fall into another category. It makes up 80 percent of hospital waste.