How should you dispose of medical waste responsibly?

Waste management and disposal is a worldwide issue that impacts on the health of people and the environment. The Australian Senate recently initiated an enquiry into the state of waste and recycling in Australia. The report of the committee was issued in June 2018, which highlights the increase in waste production as well as the problems in the industry.

A simple, cost effective means of processing waste at source can help alleviate the problems of collecting, transporting and disposing of waste.

Contact SpillPro for more information about our waste incinerators or call us on 1800 368 450.

In this video, Brett Lee, our Manager of Oil Spill Equipment and Incinerators, talks through different types of waste incinerators, and what they might be used for.

Waste incinerators

Waste incinerators burn waste at high temperatures and under controlled conditions. The high temperature burn eliminates harmful compounds and also results in a smoke free burn. The resulting ash can be less than 3% of the original waste volume. An incinerator uses blowers to supply air at high pressure thus increasing the temperature and intensity of the burn.

Medical waste incinerators

The medical industry needs specialised incinerators for waste disposal due to the infectious nature of the waste and the strict legal requirements.

However, hospitals in remote locations do not have access to compliant waste disposal services leaving them vulnerable to the spread of infection. Medical waste incinerators solve this problem.

Medical waste incinerators use diesel burners and control the burn temperature at over 1000 C. At these high temperatures, harmful compounds like dioxins and furans are completely destroyed.

SpillPro supplies two different models of medical waste incinerators, with the Mediburn 30 having a capacity of 30 kg per hour. The advantage of medical waste incinerators is that they can be used for all types of medical waste like:

• Clinical waste, including syringes, wrappings, and expired medicines

• Lab waste, such as flass, filter paper, and tissues

• Body parts

Hospitals, military and organisations like the UN all use medical waste incinerators for their remote locations. This also applies in the Pacific Island regions as well as remote inland Australia. Other users include veterinary facilities, which produce similar waste to human medical facilities. 

Read more: SpillPro carried out a project in Fiji to replace their non-functional legacy incinerators with modern Mediburn units.

Non-hazardous waste incinerators

Remote locations like building sites, mines, farms and islands all face the challenge of disposing of general waste without polluting the environment. Transport to approved disposal sites is limited and expensive. Non-hazardous or hot ash incinerators solve this problem by safely incinerating non-hazardous waste and reducing the volume down to about 3 per cent. The remaining ash is safe for distribution on lawns or into the environment.

Hot ash incinerators use a standard 208 L open head drum. They can burn up to 2 kg of trash per hour at a temperature of 600 C and upwards. Hot ash incinerators are suitable for household trash, oily rags and spills. Even documents and garden refuse can easily be processed by these incinerators.

An add-on feature for hot ash incinerators is the oil-away attachment for burning wet loads.

Drug incinerator

Drug incinerators are portable units that are easy to operate with minimal training. They fit onto a standard 208 L open headed drum disposing of drugs in a clean burn at around 600 C. A patented easy-feed cartridge makes loading drugs a simple process. After lighting a fire in the drum operators close the lid and load the cartridge. Pushing down on the level injects the drugs into the incinerator.

Law enforcement agencies are tasked with keeping our communities free of drugs, which they do by confiscating them. However, these drugs must be disposed of safely and legally.

Law enforcement is not the only agency that has this need. Hospitals and other medical facilities must dispose of expired pharmaceuticals in a safe and environmentally responsible way. Drug incinerators are perfect for these applications.

Service and maintenance

SpillPro supplies and installs incinerators all over the Oceania region. We cover Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Kiribati, Samoa, and Tonga. Our technical experts and maintenance teams travel to remote areas to set up new units if required as well as provide maintenance support.

Contact SpillPro

SpillPro is the leading portable incinerator supplier in the Oceania region, especially in remote areas. We have 15-years experience implementing simple solutions that are easy to operate and solve the issues of waste disposal. Our technical experts provide training on site and ensure your staff know how to use the incinerators safely.

Find out more about incinerators for waste disposal here or call our expert team on 1800 368 450 today.