Any waste that poses a threat to humans, wildlife, or nature generally comes under biohazardous waste. Since it is hazardous, it is crucial that hospitals and the health department set up sites for biohazardous waste disposals instead of throwing away the waste with the regular trash.
Biohazardous waste can include any medical, sharp, or clinical waste. As long as it contains any infectious agent within it, it falls under the category of biohazardous waste.
Medical wastes contain both liquid and solids. Liquids might include different bodily fluids present inside the human body and come out during an operation. Blood is one such example of bodily fluid. It is vital to clean up the blood and get rid of it.
Solids in medical wastes range from organs of the human body to different medical equipment used. After surgery, the doctors and nurses clean up the whole operation theater thoroughly, including any equipment used in the surgery. If they do not clean the theatre, it can be the origin point of many different bacteria and viruses.
Sharps like needles, syringes need to be disposed of, as they are probably the most biohazardous of all the things. When inserted inside the body, these needles capture many infectious agents that are present in the blood. When exposed to the outside world, these agents can cause harm to their surroundings, and if left like that, can cause severe complications to the environment.
Biohazardous waste disposals need special treatment, and hence, there are unique plastic bags to get rid of them. Never leave out any biohazardous waste with regular hospital trash.
One way of getting rid of solids entirely is by using an incinerator. An incinerator uses high pressure and temperature to destroy the waste. Some stuff can be disinfected and sterilized by using a steam autoclave. Autoclave uses high-temperature steam to kill any bacteria or pathogens present on the waste. The waste then becomes non-hazardous and does not pose a threat to nature.
It would help if you eradicated biohazardous sharps because they are dangerous and should not be sterilized and used again. An incinerator is helpful for this purpose. Otherwise, you can place the needles and syringes in a particular container used precisely for this purpose. Then get rid of the container.
Thus, it is crucial to identify what kind of waste you are dealing with, and if the waste is hazardous, there are particular protocols for dealing with it. And following these protocols is necessary if you want no diseases and viruses in the environment.