At Waste Managed, we provide expert healthcare waste collection and disposal services across the UK, helping you keep your waste segregated and disposed of legally and compliantly through the right waste management streams.
What Is Healthcare Waste?
Healthcare waste is any waste that is generated through the diagnosis, treatment or care of human or animal patients.
The waste falls into two clear sub-categories, ‘non-hazardous waste’ and ‘hazardous waste’.
Non-Hazardous Healthcare Waste
Non-hazardous healthcare waste covers the everyday output of any public-facing site, including general waste, recycling, glass and food waste from cafés and dining areas.
Hazardous Healthcare Waste
Hazardous healthcare waste involves any material that, if handled incorrectly, poses a real risk to human, animal and even environmental health.
Clinical Waste
Within the hazardous waste category sits clinical waste, which is any waste produced that poses a risk of infection, chemical hazard, or harm. It requires specialised handling and disposal in order to protect public health and the environment and can involve waste streams such as sharps waste, sanitary waste, and offensive waste.
Types Of Healthcare Waste
Each type of healthcare waste has its own handling and disposal requirements.
Sharps Waste
Sharps waste includes anything that has the ability to puncture the skin, such as needles, syringes and scalpels. As a result, these items must not be placed in a general waste bin and instead, must be disposed of in a puncture-resistant container.
Infectious Clinical Waste
Waste that is known, or suspected to be, contaminated with an infectious agent should be categorised as infectious clinical waste. Depending on the level of risk, waste such as used dressings, swabs, contaminated PPE and any other items exposed to a known infection source, should either be disposed of by incineration or through an alternate treatment route, such as autoclaving.
Medicinal And Pharmaceutical Waste
Expired, used or partly used medicines, such as expired tablets and liquids, used inhalers, partially used vials and chemotherapy-related waste, all fall under medicinal and pharmaceutical waste, along with any other item contaminated by the aforementioned. Cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines, including some chemotherapy drugs and certain cosmetic treatments, are kept separate because of their higher toxicity.
Offensive And Hygiene Waste
This waste stream includes non-infection but still unpleasant waste such as nappies, non-infectious dressings and feminine hygiene products, and makes up the large majority of healthcare waste. It’s typically sent to deep landfill rather than incineration, which helps to lower costs and carbon emissions.
Anatomical Waste
Recognisable body parts, organs or tissue fall under this category. They require incineration, and due to its sensitive nature, anatomical waste is handled with particular care throughout collection and disposal.
General Waste And Recycling
Like most, healthcare-centred businesses also produce a lot of general waste and recycling, such as cardboard waste, packaging, paper etc.
Organising Healthcare Waste By Colour-Coded Stream
The Health Technical Memorandum (HTM 07-01) HTM 07-01 organises healthcare waste using a colour-coded system, and understanding it makes correct segregation far more straightforward.
Yellow
Yellow bags and containers are used for infectious waste that requires incineration, including waste known to be contaminated with a dangerous pathogen.
Orange
Infectious, or potentially infectious, waste that can be safely rendered non-hazardous through alternative treatment, belongs in orange rather than yellow.
Purple
Cytotoxic and cytostatic waste including certain chemotherapy drugs and some cosmetic injectables, must be placed in purple bags and containers. This waste always requires high-temperature incineration.
Blue
Non-hazardous pharmaceutical and medicinal waste that doesn’t carry cytotoxic or cytostatic properties, such as out-of-date tablets or used inhalers, belongs in this category.
Tiger Stripe (Yellow And Black)
This is the highest-volume waste stream in most healthcare settings, covering offensive and hygiene waste. It’s sent for deep landfill rather than incineration.
White
Specific to dental waste, particularly amalgam and gypsum, white containers are used alongside mercury vapour suppressants to protect anyone handling the waste.
Black
General, non-clinical waste, such as packaging and everyday office rubbish, goes into black bags or bins.
Healthcare Waste Collection And Disposal
Healthcare Waste Collection
The best way to streamline the collection of waste is by making sure all waste is correctly segregated from the start, at the point your waste is produced. All staff should be educated on which bin, bag or container each waste type belongs in. Waste containers should be positioned where waste is generated, such as a treatment room or ward, rather than in general areas.
If you need help figuring out which waste containers your business needs, get in touch. With Waste Managed, we’ll assess what your site produces, supply the right containers for each waste stream, and set a collection schedule that matches your waste volume.
Healthcare Waste Disposal
Healthcare waste is usually sent for treatment or disposal based on its level of risk. The highest-risk waste is sent for high-temperature incineration, while waste that can be made safe first may go through alternative treatment methods such as autoclaving. Offensive waste is handled separately and is typically sent to deep landfill, as it does not carry an infection risk.
Who Needs Healthcare Waste Collection?
Healthcare waste collection applies across a range of settings, but each will likely require slightly different waste management solutions.
Care Homes
Care homes usually produce a mix of clinical waste, offensive waste, sanitary waste and general waste from daily resident care. There will also likely be food waste and dry mixed recycling waste from kitchens and communal areas.
Dental Practices
Dental practices/surgeries generate sharps waste, amalgam and pharmaceutical waste on top of general clinical waste and need a provider who understands amalgam-specific handling.
Hospitals
Hospitals produce the widest range of healthcare waste of any setting, from sharps and infectious waste through to anatomical and cytotoxic streams, often at high volume across multiple collection points.
Healthcare Waste Regulations
Healthcare waste follows a much stricter legal framework than most other standard commercial waste due to the risk it can pose if handled incorrectly. Here are the main regulations you need to be aware of.
Duty Of Care And Waste Transfer Notes
Every business has a Duty of Care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to store, transport and dispose of waste safely. For most non-hazardous transfers, a Waste Transfer Note provides evidence that ownership of the waste has passed to a licensed carrier.
Hazardous Waste Consignment Notes
Due to the higher risk this waste carries, hazardous waste needs a Hazardous Waste Consignment Note. This needs to be signed at the point of collection and kept on file for at least three years.
The Health Technical Memorandum (HTM 07-01)
The Health Technical Memorandum (HTM 07-01) was first published in 2013 by the Department of Health, and, while it isn’t legislation in itself, it still sets the standard that providers are expected to meet. It covers everything from segregation and storage through to final disposal and everything in between.
Digital Waste Tracking
From October 2026, under new Defra regulations, permitted waste facilities in England must record each load of household, commercial or industrial waste in a digital tracking system. A move towards real-time tracking that healthcare providers should factor into their compliance as to not face offences, civil penalties or compliance notices for breaches.
What Our Experts Say
“A recent study found that 30% of surgical team staff were unsure of correct waste collection methods, causing incorrect disposal and unnecessary environmental impact. This stat shows how easily incorrect segregation can occur, even in experienced clinical settings.
Every healthcare waste stream has its own handling rules, so, getting that segregation right, at the point of use, is what keeps a business compliant and safe.
Here at Waste Managed, we work with healthcare providers to make that process as simple as possible, so all your staff know exactly what goes where.” – Kelvin Croney, Chief Commercial Officer
What Our Clients Say
Waste Managed Are Experts In Healthcare Waste Management
Waste Managed supports a wide variety of healthcare-based businesses with reliable and compliant waste collection and disposal solutions across the UK. With over 15 years of healthcare waste experience, our team understands the pressure of managing waste around patients, guests, staff, and other daily operations. That’s why we provide a tailored waste management system that fits in with your business. We can arrange collection schedules, provide compliant documentation and support across all key waste streams, focusing on reducing landfill reliance, improving recycling performance and monitoring environmental impact.
We currently support nearly 2000 Human Health and Social Care businesses manage their waste.
