Medical Waste

 Biju Manthuruthil


The last time I went to the doctor’s office, I noticed something frightening. Right after the nurse or medical assistant used remotely anything, they would throw it away into the corresponding waste bin, either regular trash can or the different colored bio-hazard bins. Now training as a medical assistant, I know that of course the spread of bodily fluids is the biggest thing on the back of our minds when we go into a patient’s room besides the actual task we go in for so we throw away anything that remotely touched bodily fluids. But the thing that shocked me was that the nurse threw away a plunger into a regular trash can. That doesn’t seem like a big deal bio-hazard wise because there’s no bodily fluid taken from me, the issue was that imagine if someone not trained correctly throws away the whole thing along with many other items that shouldn’t even be touching the bare human hand.

      This sparked the idea of looking into how much waste is not separated properly and get thrown away in regular trash cans that lead to adverse reactions in the environment. One problem that could arise is that some medical waste can become airborne if the waste is not incinerated at the proper temperature and room. If these pollutants are carrying airborne diseases, anyone who breathes the pollution could be affected. Imagine getting a disease just because you wanted to go dumpster diving. Another example is radioactive waste that seeps into landfills just because the waste wasn't taken care of correctly. Over time it will get affect humans and animals leading to multiple radioactive based diseases.


       Now a big one that could be caused by us, incorrectly dumping your pills. In elementary, we had a seminar about what to do when you have excess pills and need to dump it out. Don't dump them in a regular trash can, they have specific areas where you can dispose of them. For  our city, go to the FMPD and they have a drop box in the lobby. If you want to check it out more, here's the link, https://www.flower-mound.com/1247/Medication-Disposal. If you decide not to throw them away correctly, many birds can ingest them and die right away just because they get attracted to them especially those that are brightly colored. Ingesting a medication that is slightly more or less than the intended purpose does feel weird for us, the people that they are measured for, imagine that in a smaller animal. Another issue to disposing of the medications anywhere is that it will dissolve from rain or snow, it will soon seep into the soil and possibly end up in the groundwater. That in turn will be later used as a source for drinking water. It really makes you think, am I drinking water that has been polluted by hundreds of different medications. So next time you throw that prescription away, think about why your water tastes funny.

What can we do to bring more awareness for pill disposal? Will you pay attention to where your doctor's office throws away your needles?

Work Cited:
https://medwasteservice.com/2018/effects-bio-medical-waste-environment/
https://www.flower-mound.com/1247/Medication-Disposal
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1299201/

Comments

Anonymous said…
I have also noticed the same thing at the doctor’s office. I am glad that they do make sure that nothing that they are using on me has touched anyone else, but it does seem like they throw a lot away. Maybe as solution could be since the waste is all similar because it is all from the doctor’s tools, there could be specific recycling places for just medial things that are cleaned super well and so that the waste is not completely done after it is used. Pill disposal I have never understood and I haven’t had to worry about it since Ive never taken any medications, but I see the importance of it. I feel like having another pill disposal seminar in addition to the one in elementary school when pretty much no one had pills to take because we were like 7 would be good. I know a lot more people who need to take pills as teenagers who probably do not remember the pill seminar from elementary school. I know I dont. A lot of problems that we talk about in this class could be helped if more people were just more educated. Most adults have pills that they take, so getting information on how to dispose of them could be very helpful to this issue. This could be done by articles being written about it or putting out a sponsored thing on facebook explaining the way to dispose of pills.
February 28, 2019 at 1:13 PM
Anonymous said…
I think this blog really highlights the fact that people in all different professions need to consider ways to cut back on the amount of waste they are generating. Doctors should take caution when reusing products, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't do it at all. For pill disposal, I really don't think that enough people know about the proper ways to dispose of them. I am assuming that a large amount of people throw away their pills at home just because it is convenient. I know that there is a National Prescription Drug Take back day, which was created to promote safe disposal of prescription drugs. Days like these are a good way to get the public educated on the proper ways to dispose of old prescriptions.
February 28, 2019 at 4:12 PM
Anonymous said…
I can't even recall ever having a pill seminar in elementary school. Personally, I don’t take pills so that has never been much of an issue to me. People just need to be more aware of what they’re throwing in the trash and what potential effects it could have. Before throwing away something they should consider whether it is reasonable or not, and if in doubt they have all of the internet they can use as a resource to find out if they should throw the item. The medical assistants using little amounts of objects and then throwing it in the trash is because they don’t want to risk spreading fluids to their patients. The trashcan at that moment might seem like the safer option then being held liable for reusing something. Medical waste is color coded and disposed of in other areas if it does carry disease. Waste should be checked before and tightly sealed with extra protection at a medical area especially even the normal trash. The more precaution the better.
February 28, 2019 at 7:29 PM
Anonymous said…
Seeing that animals can become sick and/or die due to the ingestion of poorly disposed pills is heartbreaking. I personally haven’t had to deal with the disposal of pills since I’ve never been on medication but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t know. I feel like people my age and even younger should learn and know how to dispose of pills. I don’t remember having a seminar in elementary school but I feel it would be beneficial to elementary school kids. The phrase reduce, reuse, and recycle was drilled into our minds and I don’t see what is stoping us from teaching the younger kids about pill disposal. This education seems like an a start to helping deal with the pill disposal problem. I am 100% for this solution and I think it can be really beneficial to us but also to the environment and the wildlife that encompasses that environment.
March 1, 2019 at 10:44 AM
Anonymous said…
Medication and opioids are now what fuel humans, and its not okay that these medical benefits for the human race are harming other species. This is just another way that our species is quite selfish, and something should be done. Maybe some posters, more informational speeches, etc. be distributed worldwide and to children. This would be a way to benefit the younger generation and to educate more and more people about the dangers of wrongful opioid disposal. Education of children is the opioid our Earth needs. I’ve never really paid attention to my doctor’s disposal habits but ill need to now that I’ve read this!
March 1, 2019 at 11:49 AM
Anonymous said…
Medication, when not used correctly, can be one of the most dangerous things out there. Not just for animals, but also for kids that might find it. Many pills look like candy and attract kids, or are brightly colored that attract animals. So disposing of these correctly is very important for communities so they can have nice outdoor spaces. To add to your doctor observation, many people use syringes and needles for legal or illegal drugs, and they don't dispose of them properly because they've never had any training or education on it. These could wind up in lakes or parks or streets for anyone to come across and harm themselves. Education on medical waste should be more prevalent around the community.
March 1, 2019 at 6:52 PM
Anonymous said…
While many people focus on mainstream environmental factors like climate and pollution, this is a topic just as important but often overlooked. Diseases are more deadly than natural disasters, so research in medicine is important. To bring awareness to this topic, we can tell others about this information and put up fliers. Even showing this blog can spread awareness. I did not know that pills had to be disposed a certain way, but after reading this now I know the correct way. As you mentioned, many untrained medical assistants tend to throw hazardous materials away. An easy solution to this problem would be to make it mandatory to show other doctors or nurses how to properly dispose hazardous material. Otherwise, we will have some major problems with drinking water later.
March 2, 2019 at 10:40 AM
Anonymous said…
This blog poses great points that are not often addressed. Once again a big factor in the improper disposal of pills is inconvenience and laziness. Why go all the way to the police station when you could just dumb them in the trash? This type of ignorance is what’s fueling the Earth and humanity’s downfall at an alarming rate. Once again, people aren’t’t taking into account what happens after something is thrown away. Toxic, radioactive, or medicinal items must be disposed of correctly if we are to avoid another plague, cancers, or death. We’ve seen how dangerous exposure to radioactivity can be, and learned how long it can take to finally go away. If medical waste isn’t properly disposed of, who knows how detrimental or widespread the repercussions could be.
March 3, 2019 at 7:01 PM
Anonymous said…
Honestly, I never knew this was even a problem until I read about this. Thus, I believe this is an issue that needs more just needs more awareness to become more effective. Given the culprits of pollution and contamination are doctors, people of high skill and work-ethic, it will be easy to implement certain guidelines in hospitals to promote sanitary operations. Thus, one way we can limit pill disposal and needle contamination is simply by spreading awareness through events such as required seminars or presentations to the doctors and nurses.
March 3, 2019 at 9:02 PM
Anonymous said…
I think this is a very good topic to bring about since I don’t think that people have talked about much. I personally have pills at home that I didn’t know what to do with from my wisdom teeth removal and now they just lie in my closet. I now know how to properly dispose of them. I have also noticed that in hospitals materials are usually not reused which is understandable but I feel like there must be a few things that are just thrown out unnecessarily. I really feel that we must educated on this topic while also educating the doctors and nurses who maybe like me haven’t noticed how much waste they are contributing.
March 4, 2019 at 11:44 AM
Anonymous said…
I think it’s very important that you brought up this topic because, as many others have commented, it’s not a very widely known issue. Many people have no idea how to properly dispose of their medications and it really could harm the environment. I think that a common theme that we see with these blogs is that the biggest problem is awareness. Most people are not aware of the effects their seemingly harmless actions can have on the environment and those around them. I do understand that hospitals or doctors cannot reuse certain things because of safety and sterilization, but I also think it’s crazy to see how much these facilities waste as well.
March 4, 2019 at 2:35 PM
Anonymous said…
Throwing away any trash properly is very important, but medical waste can be very dangerous if not disposed of properly. That’s why it’s so important that we teach people the proper way to throw away medical waste. I didn’t know about the drop box at the FMPD until I read this post, so it’s a good thing you included that! This is the first step to solving the problem: spreading the word about how to dispose of medical waste properly and giving solutions to that in your local community that is convenient and easy for people to comply with. Because medical waste can be so harmful to people and animals, we all have to make an effort to dispose of it responsibly.
March 4, 2019 at 6:29 PM
Anonymous said…
Before seeing this post, I had no idea or thought about the waste the medical field could leave. Like everyone else, I just had in mind that the doctors and nurses are doing a great job throwing away what has been used on me and other people right away so that other don’t get affected. However, what I did notice is that the doctors offices I go to do have different bins for different things so that they don’t get mixed when throwing them away. Also for pills, I never thought there would be a problem because it just never came to me that people would throw away pills when not needed. So to bring more awareness for pill disposal, I believe the places like the hospital should have posters and/or seminars to alert people about this problem. Then communities can work together to inform about places where pills are disposed separately.
March 5, 2019 at 8:22 AM
Anonymous said…
While shadowing neurosurgeons at Parkland hospital this summer, I too noticed the same thing. Nurses would often dispose of needles and other biohazardous waste material in this large red swiveling apparatus that was bolted onto the wall. I did not give it much thought, however, until I read your article. It is weird to think about all the blood, bodily, and brain fluids on the tips of those needles in that box. No matter how often those boxes are cleaned out, though, those bags always end up in the landfill. I think the best way to combat this problem is to simply put up a poster each room in a doctor or surgeon’s office, similar to how there already is for sicknesses like the flu. Education and knowledge should be the key way to combat this problem, and people will then pass along the information they have learned to others that they know.
March 5, 2019 at 10:30 AM
Anonymous said…
I always did notice the different bins on the wall in my doctors office meant for disposal of different items, but I never really thought anything about it. It’s obvious that used medical instruments are potentially very dangerous, but it seems wasteful to throw them away. I think doctors should be cautious, but if it were somehow possible to thoroughly sterilize the instruments and reuse them, that is the way to go. On the other hand, I’ve never thought twice about throwing away pills. I don’t believe I’ve ever done it, but I probably would’ve in the future if I hadn’t read this. To combat this problem we need to do what you’ve done and educate people on the proper way to do it.
March 5, 2019 at 3:24 PM
Anonymous said…
Personally, I was not taught in school about where pill capsules or biomedical waste should be disposed, nor did I know that you could take it to the FMPD into a certain container. I think a new change of thinking for biomedical waste being disposed of needs to be implemented into a lot of the schools. Spreading the word about this would be a good start for everyone to have a change of thinking, and maybe put posters or graphics in doctors offices talking about it.
March 5, 2019 at 4:27 PM
Anonymous said…
I learned how crucial it is dealing with medical wastes. I never thought of medical wastes being a problem of the whole environment until this post learning about drop box at the FMPD. In my opinion, I don't think most of the medical products can be reusable because it could contain any type of viruses in that product after using. So instead of trying to reuse the medical products, I think it would be a good idea to just start off with creating medical products that are recyclable. I also feel like hospitals should be more alert in dealing with these wastes. They should clean the products before throwing them away and being more cautious with the use of products. I also think it would be good to educate younger generations about the importance of this topic to further improve and fix this problem.
March 7, 2019 at 7:47 AM
Anonymous said…
Every time I go to the doctor’s office, the big red bins that are meant for the disposal of waste stand out to me. The thought of how they dispose of the many potent materials thrown in there always crosses my mind. To find out that they are improperly disposed of is really scary. Many of the materials thrown in there contain a large variety of medicine that can be toxic to both humans and the enviorment. Additionally, sharp objects are usually disposed in these bins as well, creating the danger of animal life getting injured. Usually, my family doesn’t throw out our pills, but to know the many harms to the enviorment from them only encourages me more to properly dispose them.
March 7, 2019 at 10:38 AM
Anonymous said…
Many people that are prescribed medications are not told how to dispose of the meds themselves in the case that they do not use all of the medication. If we make and effort to make it more common knowledge of how and where you are meant to dispose of the medication it would help cut down on the amount of pharmaceuticals being accidentally let into the earth. The proper way is to either bring your meds to a pill drop day at local high schools, I believe that Lewisville High school has one, or you take them to the police station. All in all the doctors themselves should tell their patients how to properly dispose of their prescriptions.
March 7, 2019 at 10:45 AM
Anonymous said…
I believe that it would be beneficial for many people if they had easier solutions for medical waste. Basically, provide a simple way for people to get rid of their medicine, medical tools, and other possibly hazardous materials. For example, introducing another trash bin that is specifically for medicine or instructing parents and students on how to properly dispose of their medicine. Since medicine is so important to maintaining health, people should be better taught on how to manage waste and providing safer medical procedures.
March 7, 2019 at 11:16 AM
Anonymous said…
One of the best things that we can do to eliminate this is to make it easier to dispose of medications. As of now, it is too convenient for people to throw away their medication. Many people are oblivious to how to properly dispose of them. I, for one, did not know that you could go to the police station to discard old medications. Public education can help eliminate improper disposal. Most people disregard the amount of waste that the medical industry produces because they believe that their personal health is way more important. While this is true, the industry should create new solutions so that it does not accumulate as much trash.
March 7, 2019 at 5:33 PM
Anonymous said…
I'd like to point out that one shouldn't be dumpster diving in the first place. Now, I haven't been given any pills lately, but I believe that the simplest way to combat improper pill disposal is to put big block letters on every pill container that says, "PLEASE DISPOSE OF PILLS PROPERLY". If someone's not going to take the time to look up how to dispose of pills properly, then they wouldn't do it even if they did know. The other thing is I don't think any professionally trained medic will dispose of biohazard materials improperly.
March 7, 2019 at 10:18 PM
Anonymous said…
Medical waste can be properly disposable as people need to be educated on these techniques. The industry should create new techniques on safe but environmentally friendly packaging. However, this may be a case in which I think the way needles are so often disposed is necessary, because the safety of people comes first.
March 8, 2019 at 7:54 AM
Anonymous said…
I think a huge part of this problem is the fact that so many people are uneducated about how to properly dispose of medications as they were never taught in places like school or work about how to do this. I didn't even know that medical waste was this big of an issue until I read this post. I also had no idea about the FMPD dropbox, and I think more awareness should be created about places like these to the public so that people know they exist. I think a good solution would be to have this information given at public speakings in school, colleges, and workplaces to help encourage the public to be more educated on how to dispose of medical waste. This will help prevent major issues associated with disposing medical waste and can help spread awareness of how medical waste is important to be disposed of properly to reduce environmental harm.
March 8, 2019 at 8:37 PM
Anonymous said…
We can bring more awareness for pill disposals by explaining how it affects our enviornment. It is understandable that they are being disposed because it would be harmful to put different pills into a container that contains residue of the previous pill. A solution towards this issue is to label the containers and return it to the doctor so that they can use the same container again for the same pills. Eventually all the disposals end up in the trash can. Instead if we return it after being used, they can rinse it and make sure it is ready to be used again for the people needing the same medicine.
March 20, 2019 at 3:22 PM
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