Waste Management - WHO policy and activities
WHO Policy
Guiding principles of WHO activities
- Preventing the health risks associated with exposure to health-care waste for both health workers and the public by promoting environmentally sound management policies for health-care waste;
- supporting global efforts to reduce the amount of noxious emissions released into the atmosphere to reduce disease and defer the onset of global change;
- supporting the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs);
- supporting the Basel Convention on hazardous and other waste; and
- reducing the exposure to toxic pollutants associated with the combustion process through the promotion of appropriate practices for high temperature incineration.
Strategy
To better understand the problem of health-care waste management, WHO recommends that countries conduct assessments prior to making any decision as to which health-care waste management methods be chosen. Tools are available to assist with the assessment and decision-making process so that appropriate policies lead to the choice of adapted technologies. WHO proposes to work in collaboration with countries through the following strategies:
Short-term
- Production of all syringe components made of the same plastic to facilitate recycling;
- selection of PVC-free medical devices;
- identification and development of recycling options wherever possible (e.g. for plastic, glass, etc.); and
- research and promotion on new technologies or alternatives to small-scale incineration.
Until countries in transition and developing countries have access to health-care waste management options that are safer to the environment and health, incineration may be an acceptable response when used appropriately. Key elements of appropriate operation of incinerators include:
- effective waste reduction and waste segregation;
- placing incinerators away from populated areas;
- satisfactory engineered design;
- construction following appropriate dimensional plans;
- proper operation;
- periodic maintenance; and
- staff training and management.
Medium-term
- Further efforts to reduce the number of unnecessary injections thereby reducing the amount of hazardous health-care waste that needs to be treated;
- research into the health effect of chronic exposure to low levels of dioxins and furans; and
- risk assessment to compare the health risks associated with: (1) incineration; and (2) exposure to health-care waste.
Long-term
- Effective, scaled-up promotion of non-incineration technologies for the final disposal of health-care waste to prevent the disease burden from: (a) unsafe health-care waste management; and (b) exposure to dioxins and furans;
- support to countries in developing a national guidance manual for sound management of health-care waste;
- support to countries in the development and implementation of a national plan, policies and legislation on health-care waste;
- promotion of the principles of environmentally sound management of health-care waste as set out in the Basel Convention; and
- support to allocate human and financial resources to safely manage health-care waste in countries.