What is Waste in Healthcare?
Healthcare waste is produced in facilities such as veterinary clinics, hospitals, and laboratories. This kind of waste can be split into four different categories: infectious waste, radioactive waste, general waste, and hazardous waste. General waste makes up the majority of the waste produced in most healthcare facilities. It’s estimated that 15% of the total waste generated is hazardous, toxic, radioactive, or infectious.
Due to the compliance, health, and environmental risks associated with medical and hazardous wastes, it’s absolutely essential that these waste streams are effectively segregated, treated, and disposed of in accordance with national and state-based guidelines. Failure to do so can not only have a direct impact on clinicians or EVS staff but can also impact downstream service staff like housekeeping or waste handlers who could be accidentally stuck by an incorrectly disposed needle. Needlestick injuries can lead to the transmission of serious diseases, including HIV, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, and syphilis.
Similarly, dumping clinical waste in landfills poses a great risk to the environment. Harmful chemicals, microorganisms, or pharmaceuticals can travel through soil and groundwaters, which results in ecological contamination. To reduce health and environmental threats, healthcare facilities must spread awareness among their employees of the risks associated with incorrect waste disposal, and implement a reliable waste management system.
The Daniels Difference
Safe, Sustainable and Customer-Focused
Safety is at the forefront of all of Daniels’ healthcare waste management solutions. All of our waste containers have been developed with extensive input from healthcare workers from around the world, ensuring that product design meets clinical needs. Since the launch of Daniels’ Sharpsmart (our flagship sharps container), approximately 40,000 healthcare workers have been saved from needlestick injuries. The device has been validated in multiple peer-reviewed studies as a proven “safety-engineered” waste management solution that minimizes the risk of infection transfer.
Partnering with Daniels Health is a surefire way to significantly reduce medical waste volumes in healthcare environments. Daniels’ range of reusable and bagless waste management solutions eliminates the production and disposal of single-use plastics and cardboard; supported by an integrated system that ensures the right bins are in the right locations to drive correct segregation of waste.
Our focus is delivering the best solutions that solve the needs of our healthcare customers, allowing them to focus on patient care. Daniels’ unconditional commitment to customer service allows for total transparency of service, billing, and performance metrics, with integrated “issue escalation” protocols that track customer requests through every touchpoint of the business, ensuring resolution times are measured and reported back to our customers.
