What is a medical trash can？

A medical garbage bin refers to a container that contains waste generated by medical and health institutions during medical, preventive, healthcare, and other related activities that have direct or indirect infectivity, toxicity, and other hazards. Medical waste bins are mainly divided into five categories: infectious waste, pathological waste, hazardous waste, pharmaceutical waste, and chemical waste.
What is a medical trash can
A medical garbage bin refers to a container that contains waste generated by medical and health institutions during medical, preventive, healthcare, and other related activities that have direct or indirect infectivity, toxicity, and other hazards. Medical waste is divided into five categories and listed in the National Hazardous Waste List.
The purpose of medical trash cans
It is used to temporarily contain medical waste, such as used cotton swabs, gauze, medical tape, medical equipment, and so on.
Classification of medical waste bins
Medical waste bins are mainly divided into five categories: infectious waste, pathological waste, hazardous waste, pharmaceutical waste, and chemical waste.
(1) Infectious waste includes items contaminated with patients' blood, body fluids, and excreta, as well as medical waste such as plastic products generated by infectious disease patients.
(2) Pathological waste includes discarded human tissue generated during surgery, discarded human tissue after pathological sectioning, pathological wax blocks, etc.
(3) Harmful waste includes medical needles, dissecting knives, surgical knives, glass test tubes, etc.
(4) Pharmaceutical waste includes discarded general drugs, discarded cytotoxic drugs, and genotoxic drugs.
(5) Chemical waste includes discarded chemical reagents, chemical disinfectants, mercury sphygmomanometers, mercury thermometers, etc.
The difference between medical trash cans and regular trash cans
(1) Distinguish by color
① The color of medical trash cans is mostly golden yellow, with a glossy and transparent appearance throughout.
② Ordinary sanitation trash cans may come in various colors such as green, blue, gray, black, red, etc.
③ The proportion of recycled materials in medical waste bins can be determined by the color of the bin body. When the barrel is processed into white and yellow, it cannot be mixed with recycled materials. Once mixed in, there will be spots and impurities, which are very obvious.
(2) Distinguish by material
The material requirements for medical waste bins are extremely strict, and no recycled materials are allowed to be mixed in at all. If no color masterbatch is added, it will be completely transparent white. In the medical industry, due to the possibility of containing some medical waste, it is easily stained with colors that are not easy to clean, so most of them are processed into a beautiful yellow color.
(3) Differentiate by price
(1) The price of medical trash cans is higher than that of ordinary sanitation trash cans because they have extremely strict requirements for materials.
(2) To prevent environmental pollution, it is also necessary to maintain non-toxic and odorless properties, so its price is also very high.
Emergency response plan
(1) When there is a leakage, overflow, or scattering of medical waste during the collection and transportation of medical waste, the transportation personnel shall immediately report to the hospital emergency response team and contact the municipal emergency linkage center if necessary to obtain their support. The infection management department should arrive at the scene as soon as possible.
(2) Determine the category, quantity, occurrence time, scope and degree of impact of lost, leaked, and dispersed medical waste.
(3) The Infection Management Department should organize relevant personnel to handle the site of medical waste leakage and spread as soon as possible.
(4) When dealing with areas contaminated with medical waste, efforts should be made to minimize the impact on patients, medical personnel, other on-site personnel, and the environment.
(5) Transport personnel should quickly collect, clean, and disinfect medical waste that has leaked, overflowed, or scattered. For liquid spills, adsorption materials such as sawdust are used for absorption and treatment. And carry out harmless treatment of contaminated areas and items, and if necessary, block the contaminated area to prevent the expansion of pollution.
(6) Cleaning personnel must wear protective clothing, gloves, masks, boots, and other protective equipment during the cleaning process. After the cleaning work is completed, all equipment and protective gear must be disinfected.
(7) If the body (skin) of the cleaning personnel is accidentally injured during operation, timely measures should be taken to replace protective equipment. The contaminated skin area should be wiped with 0.25% peracetic acid for 3 minutes before taking a shower. If necessary, medical treatment should be sought.
(8) Cleaning personnel must spray, wipe, and clean contaminated site floors with 0.1-0.2% chlorine containing disinfectant. Disinfection work should be carried out from the least polluted areas to the most severely polluted areas, and all used tools that may be contaminated should also be disinfected.
(9) The Infection Management Department must report the occurrence of the accident to the Emergency Accident Group, Health Bureau, and Environmental Protection Bureau of the hospital. After the accident is handled, a written report must be written and submitted to the Emergency Accident Group, Health Bureau, and Environmental Protection Bureau of the hospital. The content of the report includes:
① The time, location, cause, and brief process of the accident;
② The types and quantities of leaked and scattered medical waste, the reasons for contamination, and the departments responsible for generating medical waste;
③ The hazards and potential impacts caused by the leakage and exposure of medical waste;
④ The emergency response measures taken and the results of the handling.
(10) If staff are contaminated or stabbed by medical waste during work, they should immediately report to the Infection Management Department and take corresponding measures according to different treatment methods. If necessary, they should receive medical and technical treatment, undergo physical examination, and prevent infectious diseases.
Application scenarios
Medical trash cans are widely used in various medical and health institutions, such as clinics, hospitals, and nucleic acid testing sites.