Medical waste is divided into five categories, namely: injurious waste, chemical waste, pharmaceutical waste, infectious waste, pathological waste.
1. Injurious waste
Definition: discarded medical sharps that can stab or cut the human body.
Discarded metal sharps, such as medical needles, suture needles, acupuncture needles, probes, puncture needles and a variety of guide wires, steel nails, surgical saws, etc.; discarded glass sharps, such as coverslips, slides, glass amphorae, broken glass tubes; discarded sharps made of other materials, such as disposable tweezers, disposable probes, disposable plastic pipette tips, etc..
2. Chemical waste
Definition: toxic, corrosive, flammable and explosive waste chemicals.
Chemical imaging, medical experiments after the use of discarded chemical reagents; discarded peroxyacetic acid, glutaraldehyde and other chemical disinfectants; discarded heavy metal-containing substances in appliances, articles, such as mercury-containing sphygmomanometers, mercury-containing thermometers, as well as stomatology and other mercury-containing articles after use.
3. Pharmaceutical waste
Definition: expired, obsolete, deteriorated or contaminated discarded medicines.
Bulk discarded general drugs, such as: antibiotics, over-the-counter drugs, etc.; discarded cytotoxic drugs and genotoxic drugs, including: carcinogenic drugs, suspected carcinogenic drugs, immunosuppressants; discarded vaccines, blood products, etc..
4. Infectious waste
Definition: carry pathogenic microorganisms with the risk of spreading infectious diseases caused by medical waste.
Patient blood, body fluids, infectious excreta contaminated with plastic, rubber, cotton, fiber and other materials of waste; microbiology laboratory waste of pathogens culture medium, specimens, strains, viruses preservation of liquid; a variety of discarded medical specimens; isolation of infectious diseases, patients with infectious diseases, suspected infectious diseases, patients generated by the living garbage.
5. Pathological waste
Definition: the diagnosis and treatment process of human waste and medical laboratory animal carcasses.
Surgery and other diagnostic and treatment process generated by the discarded human tissue, organs, etc.; medical laboratory animal tissues, carcasses; pathological section of discarded human tissues, pathological wax blocks, etc.; infectious diseases, suspected infectious diseases and sudden outbreaks of infectious diseases of unknown cause of maternal placenta; gestational age of less than 16 weeks, or less than 500g fetal weight of stillbirth.