Healthcare Waste Management

Wendy Prosser

As the global healthcare system expands, including the increasing success of immunization efforts, this inevitably leads to a growing amount of healthcare waste (HCW). Certain types of HCW can pose significant environmental and public health risks due to its toxic, infectious, and other hazardous properties. It is important to recognize that immunization activities are part of the overall health system, and healthcare waste management (HCWM) must be coordinated across many entities, different departments, and, often, even the private sector.

Looking at various countries around the world, one finds that there are many different types of health systems, thus many different types of waste management systems as well. Thus, HCWM is a system that must be planned and coordinated across multiple stakeholders and programs. Immunization leaders must closely coordinate with the government entities responsible for waste management to best link resources and technologies in ensuring best practices for managing healthcare waste.

This page provides a list of resources related to healthcare waste management, as well as materials developed by local governments, multinational organizations, and the private sector. The aim is to inform and guide constituents in the public and private sector. Additionally, this page sponsors a constructive dialogue on everything from what it takes to design an HCWM plan, to applying best practices between existing HCWM models among countries in different contexts.

Apropos of the multifaceted nature of HCWM, this page’s resources have been organized according to the following categories:

People

This is a set of resources that supports training and capacity building for health workers involved in HCWM.

TitleAuthorYearTypeLanguage
Safe Management of Wastes from Health-Care ActivitiesWorld Health Organization (WHO)2014ToolEnglish
Training for mid-level managers - Module 3: Immunization SafetyWorld Health Organization (WHO)2008ToolEnglish

Process

This is a set of resources that is meant to guide countries and organizations designing plans for HCWM.

TitleAuthorYearTypeLanguage
Aperçu des technologies pour le traitement de déchets infectieux et de déchets piquants/coupants/tranchants provenant des établissements de santéOMS - Organisation Mondiale de la SantéToolFrench
Appropriate Disposal of Immunization Waste (ADIW) platformUNICEF2020ToolEnglish
Facility Health Care Waste Management Plan - GuidanceHealth Care Without HarmToolEnglish
Gestion Des déchets solides d’activités de soins dans les centres de santé primaireOMS - Organisation Mondiale de la Santé2005GuidanceFrench
Green Healthcare WasteGlobal Environment Facility (GEF), Health Care Without Harm, UNDP, World Health Organization (WHO)RepositoryEnglish
Health Care Waste Management Budget Planning - GuidanceHealth Care Without Harm2019GuidanceEnglish
Health care waste management in immunization programs: Guidance for proposal planningGavi, the Vaccine Alliance2020GuidanceEnglish
Health care waste management in immunization programs: Guidance for proposal planning - synthesis documentGavi, the Vaccine Alliance2020GuidanceEnglish
Health care waste management maturity modelGavi, the Vaccine Alliance2020GuidanceEnglish
Healthcare Waste Management Expanded Costing Analysis Tool (ECAT) for Low-Income Countries.World Health Organization (WHO)2020ToolEnglish
Healthcare Waste Management Rapid Assessment Tool (RAT)World Health Organization (WHO)2019ToolEnglish
Healthcare waste treatment technologies databaseHealth Care Without Harm2022RepositoryEnglish
Hospital Service Management (2nd revised; 2015) GuidelinesGovernment of Bangladesh2015ReportEnglish
Individualized Rapid Assessment Tool (I-RAT).UNDP2019ToolEnglish
Management of solid health-care waste at primary health-care centresWorld Health Organization (WHO)2005GuidanceEnglish
Overview of technologies for the treatment of infectious and sharp waste from health care facilitiesWorld Health Organization (WHO)2019GuidanceSpanish
Planning and Implementing High-Quality Supplementary Immunization Activities for Injectable VaccinesWorld Health Organization (WHO)2016GuidanceEnglish
Plateforme pour développer conjointement un système robuste de gestion des déchets de vaccinationUNICEF2020ToolFrench
Préparation des plans nationaux de gestion des déchets de soins médicaux en Afrique subsahariennePNUE - Programme des Nations Unies pour l’Environnement, OMS - Organisation Mondiale de la Santé2016GuidanceFrench
Preparation of National Healthcare Waste Management Plans in Sub-Saharan Countries - Guidance ManualUNDP, World Health Organization (WHO)2016GuidanceEnglish
Safe management of wastes from health-care activities: a summaryWorld Health Organization (WHO)2017GuidanceEnglish
Unit 5 - Safe injections and Waste DisposalGovernment of India2017GuidanceEnglish
Платформа для совместной разработки рациональной системы управления отходами иммунизации v2021.1UNICEF2021ToolRussian

Technology

This is a set of resources that describes the different technologies currently employed in HCWM.

Project innovations

This is a set of resources that showcases the various and successful innovations for HCWM that countries have designed or implemented.

Academic research

This is a set of resources that provides insight from the academic world as to HCWM.

TitleAuthorYearTypeLanguage
Healthcare waste management in Nigeria: A case studyElijah Ige Ohimain, Stephen Obekpa Abah2011Case studyEnglish

National level policies and strategies

TitleAuthorYearTypeLanguage
Health Care Waste Management Standard Operating Procedures (First Edition)Ministry of Health of Kenya2016GuidanceEnglish
Kenya Healthcare Waste Management Strategic Plan 2015-2020Ministry of Health of Kenya2015GuidanceEnglish
National Healthcare Waste Management PolicyRepublic of Nigeria: Ministries of Health and the Environment2013GuidanceEnglish
Закон об отходах производства и потребленияПравительство Кыргызской Республики2001GuidanceRussian
Санитарно-эпидемиологические правила и нормативыПравительство Кыргызской Республики2016GuidanceRussian