Determination of hospital waste composition and disposal methods: a case study

Abstract

The fundamental information for selecting and designing the most efficient treatment method of hospital waste is obtained by means of waste composition analysis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the physical and elemental composition of waste in four hospitals in Sivas, Turkey. The results should help us select and design proper waste disposal. During the study period it was estimated that the daily waste generation rate of four hospitals was 985 kg/day, projected to be 1267 kg/day in 2015. Furthermore, analysis indicated that the moisture content of wastes was 14,2%. The four hospital wastes consist of 92% combustible wastes and 8% noncombustible wastes by mass. The combustible wastes constitute paper (16%), textiles (10,2%), cardboard (4%), plastics (41,2%) and food waste (17%). Since the ratio of combustible waste is high, the incineration method has been suggested as a proper disposal method.