HEALTHCARE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA. A CASE STUDY

摘要

Saudi Arabia generates more than 50500 tons of healthcare waste per year, where a Saudi patient in generates an average 1.3 kg/bed/day of healthcare waste, which is the norm for developing countries as per the World Health Organization (WHO) rates. Until recently, most Saudi government hospitals and some private medical facilities treated healthcare waste as municipal waste, disposing it in municipal open dumps or landfills. Currently, all healthcare wastes are being disposed and treated through specialized companies, which should be licensed by the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) of Saudi Arabia. This was due to the Saudi government directive to shut down all on-site treatment plants at Saudi hospitals and compel Saudi healthcare establishments to enlist the services of a private company. In 1998, the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia promulgated regulations on healthcare waste definition, handling, segregation, disposal, and treatment. The Saudi regulations apply to all categories of hazardous healthcare waste except for body parts and pressurized containers. Also, as Saudi Arabia is one of the Gulf countries, recent Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued guidelines in (1999) required that each medical facility establish a comprehensive waste management plan. The Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Municipalities and Rural Affairs, and most importantly, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) will not allow land disposal and incineration, except with special emission-cleaning equipment. Currently, there are seven companies that offer healthcare waste handling and treatment in various parts of Saudi Arabia. Only one of these establishments is applying the incineration method of waste disposal, while other companies are using the microwave and autoclave treatment methods. More companies are expected to get a license from PME in the near future; approximately 15 companies have submitted a request for a license.