ABSTRACT
In this paper different a,lternatives for hospital waste disposal in Karaj are compared with respect to practicability. The objective of this study is to conduct a survey of present practices [e.g. available procedures, techniques, and methods of handling and disposing of hospital waste], and determine the generation rate of hospital wastes. The study was performed in city of Karaj. Karaj is one of the largest cities in the country. There are 11 hospitals in Karaj [8 governmental hospitals and 3 private hospitals] with a total of 1443 active beds. All the hospitals selected for surveying. Several methods were used to collect data. Survey questionnaires were distributed by the author in each hospital. These questionnaires were based on Likert style. The questionnaires contained information regarding the generation of waste and the core aspects of segregation, collection, internal and external storage, transport, treatment, and ultimate disposal. On-site inspections and interviews were conducted by the author after being authorized by hospital management. To support and supplement information collected in the survey, interviews were conducted with the managers responsible for environmental healthcare in each hospital, as well as with all levels of employees who work in collection, handling and disposal of waste within the hospital. SPSS Software program was used to analyze the collected data. One of the first and most important steps in the development of risk or cost analyses in the field of medical waste management involves understanding the generation rates and quantity of the waste that needs to be managed and treated. Waste is produced from the various activities performed in the hospitals. Domestic waste is generated from food preparation, administrative departments, housekeeping and so on. These wastes have the same composition as municipal solid waste and should be segregated correctly and dealt with by the municipal waste disposal system. Infectious waste is a byproduct of diagnostic and experimental activities and therapeutic methods such as surgery, dialysis, biopsies, injections and chemotherapy. The results of the survey indicate that in these hospitals 4505 kg solid waste is produced each day that 46.67% of them were Domestic like waste, 52% was infectious waste and 1.37% was sharp cutting materials. The mean of daily waste generation was 3.12 Kg per active bed. The Domestic like and infectious wastes were not segregated properly