Processing hospital waste

Do you process hospital waste? You must do so with certified decontamination equipment.

What is hospital waste?

Hospital waste is waste from both human and animal healthcare and from research done in, for example, laboratories. This waste is categorised as follows:

• non-risk medical waste
• high-risk medical waste
• radioactively contaminated waste

To process this waste, you must observe the rules of the Decontamination Equipment (Hospital Waste) Directive (Richtlijn decontaminatie-apparatuur ziekenhuisafval, in Dutch). This directive states the requirements for both the equipment and the process used to decontaminate hospital waste.

Hospital waste packaging

The hospital waste you receive for processing must be packed according to the ADR packaging instructions. The waste must be packed in the appropriate packaging to prevent leaks and contamination, for example in needle containers or medical waste containers.