Medical waste, also called clinical or biomedical waste, is waste generated by healthcare activity that may be infectious, toxic, flammable or radioactive, posing a risk to people or the environment. NSW Health's definition covers waste containing body fluids or blood, blood-stained materials and laboratory specimens.
Last updated: August 2026.
The Types of Medical Waste
Medical waste is not one uniform category. The World Health Organization groups it into seven types:
- Infectious waste: waste known or suspected to contain pathogens, such as blood- and body-fluid-contaminated materials, laboratory cultures and microbiological stocks, and waste from patients in isolation wards.
- Pathological waste: human tissues, organs or fluids, body parts and contaminated animal carcasses.
- Sharps waste: used or unused needles, syringes, scalpels, blades and broken glass.
- Chemical waste: solvents and reagents from laboratory work, disinfectants, and heavy metals in medical devices such as mercury in broken thermometers.
- Pharmaceutical and cytotoxic waste: expired or unwanted medicines, items contaminated with pharmaceuticals, and cytotoxic waste from cancer-therapy drugs.
- Radioactive waste: items contaminated by radionuclides, including radioactive diagnostic or radiotherapy materials.
- Non-hazardous or general waste: waste that carries no particular biological, chemical, radioactive or physical hazard.
Of the total amount of waste healthcare activities generate, about 85% is this last category: ordinary, non-hazardous waste. The remaining 15% is the hazardous share, which may be infectious, toxic, flammable or radioactive.
This waste isn't only generated inside hospital wards. The World Health Organization identifies six major sources across the health system:
- hospitals and other health facilities
- laboratories and research centres
- mortuary and autopsy centres
- animal research and testing laboratories
- blood banks and collection services
- nursing homes for the elderly
What Counts as Medical Waste Under NSW Law
NSW Health defines clinical waste as any waste resulting from medical, nursing, dental, pharmaceutical, skin penetration or other related clinical activity that has the potential to cause injury, infection or offence. It specifically includes waste containing:
- human tissue, other than hair, teeth and nails
- body fluids or blood
- visibly blood-stained body fluids, materials or equipment
- laboratory specimens or cultures
- animal tissue, carcasses or other waste from animals used for medical research
Under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, clinical waste stops being classed as clinical waste once it has been treated by a method the NSW EPA has approved in writing.
Since 2023 changes to that Act, it's the NSW EPA, not NSW Health, that manages applications and approvals for clinical waste treatment methods. The specific NSW Health policy directive covering clinical waste in health services is PD 2020_049, Clinical and Related Waste Management for Health Services. NSW Health also maintains a Generic Waste Management Plan for Health Care Facilities, currently under review. This guidance is current as at 29 June 2023.
Why Correct Handling Matters
Healthcare waste contains potentially harmful microorganisms that can infect hospital patients, health workers and the public. Drug-resistant microorganisms can also spread from health facilities into the wider environment.
Mishandling it carries specific, documented risks:
- sharps-inflicted injuries
- toxic exposure to pharmaceutical products, including antibiotics and cytotoxic drugs, and to substances such as mercury or dioxins released during handling or incineration
- chemical burns from disinfection, sterilisation or waste treatment
- air pollution from particulate matter released during incineration
- thermal injuries from open burning or incinerator operation
- radiation burns
- spread of antimicrobial resistance through unsafe storage, treatment or disposal of pharmaceutical waste
Sharps carry a particular risk. An estimated 16 billion injections are administered worldwide every year, and not every needle and syringe is disposed of safely afterwards. Unsafe injection practices have fallen substantially in low- and middle-income countries in recent years, partly through efforts to cut reuse of injection devices, but as recently as 2010 they were still responsible for as many as 33,800 new HIV infections, 1.7 million hepatitis B infections and 315,000 hepatitis C infections. A single needle-stick injury from a needle used on an infected patient carries a 30% risk of hepatitis B infection, a 1.8% risk of hepatitis C infection, and a 0.3% risk of HIV.
Waste handlers carry their own risk too. Scavenging at disposal sites and manually sorting hazardous healthcare waste is common in many regions of the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and puts handlers at immediate risk of needle-stick injuries and exposure to toxic or infectious materials.
Even at a global level, waste-management systems often can't keep up. As of 2021, only 61% of hospitals had basic healthcare waste services; that fell to just 25% of health facilities in fragile settings, based on 2023 data. Common reasons healthcare waste services fail include limited legal frameworks, low awareness of the health hazards involved, inadequate training, absence of proper waste management systems, and insufficient financial and human resources. Many countries simply don't have appropriate regulations, or don't enforce the ones they have.
Treatment done badly creates its own hazards, and not only through incineration. Treating healthcare waste with chemical disinfectants can release chemical substances into the environment if they aren't handled, stored and disposed of properly. Disposing of untreated healthcare waste in landfill can contaminate drinking, surface and groundwater if the landfill isn't properly constructed. Incineration is widely practised, but inadequate incineration, or incinerating unsuitable materials, releases pollutants into the air and leaves ash residue behind. Materials containing chlorine can generate dioxins and furans when incinerated, both human carcinogens. Only modern incinerators running at 850-1100°C with special gas-cleaning equipment meet international emission standards for dioxins and furans. Autoclaving, microwaving and steam treatment are alternatives to incineration that reduce the release of chemicals or hazardous emissions, where a facility has the resources to run and maintain them.
WHO's core reference document on all of this is Safe management of wastes from health-care activities, now in its second edition. It's written for healthcare facility managers, policy makers, public health professionals and waste experts. The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme also regularly publishes data and reports on healthcare waste management, as part of tracking progress on Sustainable Development Goal 6, safely managed water and sanitation.
This is why clinical waste in NSW has to go to a service licensed for it.
Does Paul's Rubbish Removal Take Medical Waste?
Paul's Rubbish Removal handles medical and clinical waste. Paul's also takes the general, non-clinical side of a clear-out in the same visit: old furniture, fit-out debris, packaging and broken equipment. See medical centre waste removal for what that covers.
If you're clearing household hazardous items like paint, batteries or chemicals alongside a medical clear-out, Paul's can take those too. Our guide to hazardous waste disposal in Sydney also covers the free CleanOut process if you'd rather drop them off yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main types of medical waste?
The World Health Organization groups it into seven categories: infectious waste, pathological waste, sharps waste, chemical waste, pharmaceutical and cytotoxic waste, radioactive waste, and non-hazardous general waste. See the full breakdown above.
Is medical waste the same as clinical waste?
NSW Health's definition of "clinical waste" is waste from medical, nursing, dental, pharmaceutical or skin-penetration activity that could cause injury, infection or offence. "Medical waste" and "biomedical waste" are commonly used interchangeably with it.
Does Paul's Rubbish Removal remove medical or clinical waste?
Yes. Paul's Rubbish Removal handles medical and clinical waste. For the general, non-clinical side of a medical centre clear-out, such as furniture, fit-out debris, packaging and broken equipment, see medical centre waste removal.
Can treated clinical waste be disposed of as general waste?
Yes. Once clinical waste has been treated by a method the NSW EPA has approved in writing, it is no longer classed as clinical waste for regulatory purposes.
What are the risks of improper medical waste disposal?
Mishandled medical waste can infect patients, health workers and the public, cause sharps injuries, and lead to chemical or radiation burns. Poor treatment or disposal can also contaminate drinking water and groundwater, and release air pollutants during incineration. See the full breakdown above.
What NSW policy governs clinical waste in health services?
PD 2020_049, Clinical and Related Waste Management for Health Services, is the NSW Health policy directive covering it. Since 2023 changes to the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, the NSW EPA manages approvals for clinical waste treatment methods.
Where does medical waste come from?
It isn't only generated in hospital wards. The World Health Organization identifies six major sources: hospitals and other health facilities, laboratories and research centres, mortuary and autopsy centres, animal research and testing laboratories, blood banks and collection services, and nursing homes for the elderly.
How much of healthcare waste is actually hazardous?
About 85% of the waste healthcare activities generate is general, non-hazardous waste. The remaining 15% is hazardous: it may be infectious, toxic, flammable or radioactive.
Clearing a medical centre and only dealing with the general, non-clinical side: furniture, fit-out debris, packaging, broken equipment? Call Paul's Rubbish Removal on 0407 125 125 for a free quote.
