Waste Minimization: A Survey in Iranian Public and Private Hospitals

Hospitals usually generate large amounts of hazardous waste. If not managedproperly, hospital waste can pose threats to public safety and damage the environment. Waste minimization isa waste management approach that focuses on reducing the amount and toxicity of hazardous wastes. This study pursues a two-fold 1) to gain insight into hospital waste minimization performance in Iran usinga sample of public and private hospitals, 2) to compare WM performance between public and private hospitals. Data were collected using a questionnaire, designed based on WHO measures of hospital wasteminimization. Ninety individuals from four public and three private hospitals were enrolled in this study usingstratified sampling. Data was summarized using descriptive statistical methods. T-test and ANOVA were usedto compare the mean values. Average waste minimization score of the surveyed hospitals was 2.92 (from 5). No significant differencein overall waste minimization performance was found between public and private hospitals. Waste segregationperformance was found to be significantly higher in public hospitals, whereas private hospitals showedhigher performance in managing storage of chemicals and pharmaceutical products. According to our results the status of waste minimization is unsatisfactory in Iranian hospitals. Ourresults also reflect on lack of employee familiarity with the concepts and practices of waste minimization in Iranianhospitals. Insignificant difference in score of waste minimization between public and private hospitals underminesthe role of hospital ownership as a determinant of hospital waste minimization performance. Overall, this study emphasizesthe the immediacy of devising effective strategies to address the challenge of hospital waste management.