Options evaluated.

Abstract

As part of the comprehensive project "Sustainable Health Care Waste Management in Gauteng" en elaborate environmental and financial feasibility study has been made for selected provincial healthcare waste management scenarios. Furthermore, the study assessed the health, safety and socioeconomic impacts of the scenarios qualitatively and comparison was made with the prevailing containerisation and treatment used currently in Gauteng Province. The findings of the feasibility study show that compared to today's system of predominantly using disposable carboard boxes that are incinerated in incinerators with no flue gas cleaning systems and limited control of the combustion process, significant reductions of the emissions to the atmosphere can be achieved by improving the emission standards for incinerators and/or introducing non-burn treatment technologies. Also, it is clearly demonstrated that introduction of safer and reusable containerisation has a significant environmental benefit while providing a better and more occupationally safe service at a similar or slightly reduced cost. Finally the feasibility study demonstrates that while the type and amounts of emissions from incinerators with flue gas cleaning devises and alternative non-burn treatment technologies are materially different in nature and type it is difficult to clearly determine which of the two types of treatment technologies is globally and overall the least damaging in environmental terms.