HOSPITAL WASTE – LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK AND MANAGEMENT DIFFERENTIATIONS IN AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, GERMANY AND GREECE
- Susanne N. Mahnik - Department for Environmental Management and Hazardous Goods Management, VAMED-KMB, Austria
- Marc Hoffmann - Department of Environmental Protection, University Hospital Jena, Germany
- Norbert Fraeyman - Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
- Dimitrios Komilis - Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece
- Available online in Detritus - Volume 25 - December 2023
- Pages 71-77
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Copyright: © 2023 CISA Publisher
Abstract
In this paper, the differences regarding hospital waste management, specifically regarding the legal and technical situation and the definition of hazardous hospital waste in four member states (Austria, Belgium, Germany and Greece) are presented. All countries follow the legal guidelines of the European Union, but the technical situation, especially the possibilities for thermal waste disposal in incineration plants are different. Also, the definition and categories of hazardous medical wastes is different in the aforementioned four EU member states. The annual production amounts of medical waste in selected countries are presented, as well as criteria that lead to their classification as hazardous medical waste.Keywords
Editorial History
- Received: 04 May 2023
- Revised: 06 Dec 2023
- Accepted: 12 Dec 2023
- Available online: 31 Dec 2023
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