Study on waste from hospital and clinics in Phitsanulok

Waste generation depends on numerous factors such as established waste management methods, type of hospital establishment, hospital specialization, proportion of reusable items employed in hospital, and proportion of patients treated on a day-care basis. This study surveyed the waste from hospital and clinics in Phitsanulok and found the average daily waste generated as general, medical and hazardous waste from all hospitals in Phitsanulok Province at 1.751, 0.284 and 0.013 kg/bed respectively and at 0.323, 0.041 and 0.002 kg/bed respectively from all clinics in Phitsanulok Province. Medical waste from all hospitals consisted of needles, gloves, drain tubes, cottons and gauze, napkins, plastic syringes, swap and body parts with total daily generation at 0.452, 0.480, 0.390, 0.404, 0.018, 0.355, 0.004 and 0.382 kg/bed respectively. Information about proper waste management process is needed to improve hospital waste management. Hospital waste management is an important and necessary component of environmental health protection