Analysis of the medical waste production rate in a teaching hospital

Abstract

Objective: To identify the medical waste production rates (kg.bed-1.day-1) for the waste groups A, B, D (including recyclables) and E, and to verify seasonal influence in the generation of waste. Methods: Data were collected by weighing the waste, during seven consecutive days for four weeks, with each week corresponding to a season. Results: The waste production rate presented the following values in kg.bed-1.day-1 for each group: A: 0.831, B: 0.088, D: 2,607, D-Recyclable: 0.525 and E: 0.102. Based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, it was not found evidence that seasonality influences with the generation of the waste. Conclusion: Hospitals with similar numbers of beds have divergent values for the waste production rates, therefore it was not possible to use a reference rate for comparison with other hospitals. Finally, the ANOVA test did not found evidence that seasonality influences the generation of the waste.