Medical waste management in Malaysia: Policies, strategies and issues

One cannot deny the important roles play by medical science and its activities on human life and fitness. However, these activities can generate some wastes that pose severe effects on human health and environment at large, especially if there is no proper management policy and strategy in place. Although some may argue that waste is generally unavoidable byproduct of most human activities but the provision of expanded healthcare facilities today have added substantial quantities of medical waste into waste stream with severe environmental and human health consequences. This paper examines the level of medical waste management in Malaysia. It also addresses the impacts of these medical wastes and the strategic measures taken by Malaysian government. Finally, it identifies some potential issues associated with policy measures and put forward some policy recommendations for precautionary measures in the future.