REVIEW PAPER
Advantages and Disadvantages of Healthcare
Waste Treatment and Disposal Alternatives:
Malaysian Scenario
Maryam Khadem Ghasemi, Rosnah Bt. Mohd. Yusuff
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Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Submission date: 2015-07-05
Final revision date: 2015-09-07
Acceptance date: 2015-09-07
Publication date: 2016-01-25
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2016;25(1):17-25
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ABSTRACT
The generation of a comparatively large amount of potentially infectious and hazardous wastes has increased
in healthcare services. Worldwide inappropriate healthcare waste management practices can have a
direct and indirect effect of health hazards. This article summarizes a literature review into healthcare waste
and presents basic information on characteristics of them generated in healthcare centers. Also, this paper
placed emphasis on sustainable treatment of the healthcare waste with case study. Different types of clinical
waste include infectious, pathogenic, genotoxic, radioactive, and pharmaceutical materials, plus sharps. The
various clinical wastes have to be managed and handled differently. There are several methods of healthcare
treatment such as incineration, autoclaving, microwaving, landfilling, and plasma pyrolysis. Each of them
has its own advantages and disadvantages. Before selecting the right treatment technology, it is necessary to
substantiate the waste volume and its category. Currently, healthcare waste is generally treated by incineration
technology and the incinerated ash is disposed of in Malaysian landfills. There are several constraints
on incinerating and landfilling healthcare wastes as such waste can be a major source of dioxin and furan
pollution that may pose such health problems as liver failure and cancer. Therefore, other potential methods
should be examined as alternatives to incineration and landfilling in order to better manage healthcare waste
in Malaysia.