Comparative study on methods used for medical waste disposal

With the rapid economic development, environmental issues have become increasingly prominent and medical waste has become a major global environmental problems. Based on the data summarizing the medical waste generation, the classification and the risk, the advantages and disadvantages of various treatment methods for medical waste disposal are compared to provide evidences for selecting different types of medical waste disposal technology. The centralized incineration is characterized by the advantages such as burning completely and reducing the capacity of waste, and is a primary method for the medical waste disposal in China and also in the world. However, the exhaust gas, slag and flying ash generated in the process of incineration should be processed with other reliable methods to prevent the secondary contamination; according to the types of medical waste, appropriate methods should be chosen to make the harmless disposal for the protection of the environment to protect human health.