Medical Items That Should Be Shredded

The appropriate ways to dump medical waste are still not well known. However, we must educate people about the adverse effects of failing to properly dispose of medical waste from hospitals, hospices, or even just patient homes.

There is only one solution to safely discarding medical waste: shredding, and in this post, we will discuss which medical waste should be shredded and why.

Medical Items That Must Be Shredded

Here are a few examples of what counts as waste:

1. Anatomical or pathological waste (non-shreddable)
2. Bandages
3. Iv drip bags
4. Gloves
5. Plastic containers
6. Syringes
7. Needles
8. Glass injection bottles
9. Culture plates
10. Sharps
11. Blood-stained tubes
12. Vials with infectious materials like semen and vaginal secretions

This explains that at least 6 million tonnes of garbage are produced nationwide in the United States. Depending on the risk they cause to the environment, medical waste is divided into five types that one can easily shred.

The sharp apparatus

These include sharp objects that need to be thrown away immediately and individually, such as injections, needles, and other sharp objects.

Red totes

Bandages, gauzes, fluid bags, and pathology lab-tested materials are among the biohazardous and surgical instruments that can no longer be used that can be found in the red waste bags.

Packaging in black

Empty drip jars, pill bottles, and other plastic disposals are stored in these containers, filled with cleaning supplies.

Containers in blue

These include any leftover medications, including pills, injections, powders, and more.

Everything in Yellow garbage bags

These are filled with everything linked to toxic chemotherapy that might emit dangerous toxins into the air.

How To Shred Medical Waste

There are few ways to recycle all the debris because some can’t be sterilized or repurposed. This is why getting rid of all the plastic waste that clogs up landfills and releases hazardous fumes into the air is the only practical solution. The only way to get this waste out of the way and into trustworthy hands, guaranteeing proper waste disposal, is to shred plastics.

Pill bottles, IV bottles, tubes, and PPE kits are all made of 100% shreddable plastic, and numerous services are looking for ways to ensure that these plastics don’t just end up in landfills.

Why Is It Important To Shred Medical Waste?

Unchecked disposal poses a problem because it might result in drug addicts obtaining pills or injection vials; worse, these items could be used to commit identity theft.

The patients’ names are usually inscribed on the bottles; if they get into the wrong hands, you can face legal action.

A licensed shredding company must shred all shreddable medical waste by HIPAA regulations, and they must give you proof of the material’s shredding in the form of a certification or images and video.

They also eliminate all other medical waste, including plastic surgical instruments, drip bottles, and syringes.