HealthLinks Upstate May-Aug 2023

68 | www.Ups tatePhys i c i ansSC . com | www.Hea l thL i nksUps tate. com In the United States, federal, state, and local agencies have established regulations that medical facilities are supposed to be following. Most of the hazardous or infectious waste is disposed of or sterilized in autoclaves – machines that use steam under pressure to kill harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi and spores. This type of waste can be put in a red bag and delivered to another autoclave site. Some hospitals, such as the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, which are registered as extra-large-quantity generators of infectious waste, have their own autoclaves. “And all of our clinical staff participate in a mandatory waste-disposal education process,” said Heather Woolwine, MUSC director of public affairs, media relations and presidential communications. “We also post guidelines and continually reinforce the importance of proper waste disposal.” But Montgomery pointed out that while medical personnel everywhere are trying to handle the waste issue, whether or not they are properly equipped, the extra tonnage is beginning to appear in unprecedented ways. “There’s a lot we don't know about plastics and the environment,” she said. “And increasingly, we’re finding that microplastics are showing up in our waterways and our food systems. These are all concerns about health care waste.” To this end, a firm called EcoSteris, located in Summerville, has taken the initiative to handle the state’s medical waste problem with the recent construction of a $6 million stateof-the art disposal facility. It will contain an autoclave, an automation system and shredders for treating up to 19 million pounds of medical waste per year. “With such capacity, we will be able to treat the medical waste of all the state’s major hospitals, as well as all of the doctors’ offices and clinics combined,” said Youmna Squalli, president and owner of EcoSteris. “This new facility is in a centralized spot to handle medical waste generated on both a large and small scale.” The treatment procedure is simple: The medical waste that comes to EcoSteris gets treated first, then it is shredded twice. When asked the difference between existing methods and EcoSteris’ new process, Squalli said that the sterilization approach, which is followed by the majority of medical waste treatment processes, allows only for treatment “but does not change its composition.” “So you end up seeing needles and sharps in the compactors and in the landfill even after treatment,” she said. “Our facility, which is the first of its kind, will eliminate this concern.” MEDICAL WASTE By the Numbers 16 BILLION - The number of injections administered each year worldwide. Source: World Health Organization 5.9 MILLION TONS - The amount of medical waste produced each year from U.S. hospitals. Source: Sharps Compliance, Inc. 33 POUNDS - The amount of waste produced from each staffed bed every day in the United States. Source: Sharps Compliance, Inc. 144,000 TONS - The amount of additional medical waste produced from the 8 billion COVID vaccine doses. Source: World Economic Forum 8 BILLION - The number of COVID vaccine doses given across the globe through early 2022. Source: World Economic Forum 3 IN 10 - The average amount of the world’s health care facilities that lack systems to segregate medical waste. Source: World Economic Forum In 2020 alone, 4.5 trillion additional disposable masks were thrown away by the public, resulting in 6 million extra tons of waste. “ “

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