Clinical waste is waste generated in a clinical or similar setting. It can cause disease or injury and can be offensive to the community.
Related industrial waste includes wastes that come from or are contaminated with:
- chemicals
- pharmaceutical substances
- cytotoxics.
Cytotoxics are substances toxic to the cells in the body.
Clinical and related industrial waste comes from:
- medical facilities, such as hospitals
- dental surgeries
- veterinary clinics
- laboratories
- podiatrists
- brothels
- blood banks
- mortuaries.
Examples of activities that generate clinical and related industrial waste are:
- tattooing
- body piercing
- emergency services
- nursing
- pharmaceutical procedures.
Clinical and related industrial waste must be treated before final disposal – for example, by incineration (burning) or autoclave (sterilising). This is to:
- make the waste non-hazardous and inoffensive
- allow it to be disposed of safely.
It is the responsibility of the waste generator to ensure that all waste types are only sent to treatment facilities that have a permission for those specific waste types.
There are requirements for managing clinical and related industrial waste.
Clinical waste and the law
Clinical and related industrial waste is pre-classified as reportable priority waste under Schedule 5 of the Environment Protection Regulations 2021(opens in a new window).
Under the Environment Protection Act 2017(opens in a new window), there are duties that apply to you if you are managing, transporting or depositing reportable priority waste.
These duties apply to anyone who generates, transports or receives clinical waste.
The duties are:
- duties of persons depositing industrial waste
- duty of persons involved in transporting industrial waste
- duties of persons receiving industrial waste
- duties of persons managing priority waste
- duty to investigate alternatives to waste disposal
- duty to notify us of transaction in reportable priority waste
- duty of persons transporting reportable priority waste.
The general environmental duty also applies.
You must also get a permission to conduct certain activities involving clinical and related industrial waste. Permissions have conditions that must be followed.
You need an A21 – Temporary storage – biomedical waste registration to store 40m3 or less of any biomedical waste. This does not apply to biomedical waste generated at the site by a council, a health service or an ambulance service.
Before you dispose of clinical and related industrial waste, the waste must be treated – for example, by incineration (burning) or autoclave (sterilising). The treatment process itself must comply with the general environmental duty and the conditions of your permission.
Our role in clinical waste
We regulate clinical and related industrial waste in Victoria, including its:
- transport
- temporary storage
- treatment and disposal.
Impact of clinical waste on your health
Clinical waste may contain active microbiological or biological material. This is a known hazard. Laboratory staff and waste handlers should take special precautions to avoid the risks – for example:
- needle stick injuries
- transmission of infectious diseases.
Cytotoxic waste is the most hazardous type of waste. It can:
- impair, injure or kill cells
- irritate the skin, eyes, mucous membranes and other tissue
- cause toxic and/or allergic reactions.
This waste needs to be handled very carefully. Even very small quantities can be hazardous.
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