Contaminated Waste Disposal Log Template

The types of waste that should be recorded in a contaminated waste log are those that are contaminated or have become infected, used by or exposed from hazardous factory-related processes, human and animal sources. Contaminated waste is not inherently hazardous and is also different from purely chemical waste. These materials often started as generally harmless and safe, but after exposure to infectious sources, they’ve become contaminated such as personal protective equipment (PPE) such as disposable gloves is safe to use for the first time, but after use in production, it should be disposed of immediately and properly.

It goes without saying that appropriate ways for contaminated wastes are disposed are both necessary and mandated. It’s not simply removing the contaminated equipment from the production, but the disposal method must be considered to avoid cross-contamination and reduce the risk of infection after disposal. The following are the most common disposal method:

1. Incineration - This is the general technique to manage waste by going through a waste treatment or a controlled combustion with a primary objective of reducing the volume of the waste up to 70% to 90%.
2. Secure landfill - This is an engineered facility designed for a secure and safe disposal of waste. The locations are determined by the respective responsible person handling the waste disposal and depends on local regulations as well.
3. Autoclaving – For testing facility-infected waste or biohazard waste, this is the process of decontaminating the waste by using high-pressure saturated steam to kill microbes.

Disposal methods should be accurately recorded in the contaminated waste log, as this strengthens the precautionary measures and control of waste disposal. This should be done along with detailing the disposal location. The choice of which disposal method to use will depend primarily on the type of contaminated waste being disposed of.

Below are a couple of example of types of contaminated waste recorded in a contaminated waste log, along with how to appropriately dispose of them:

Sharp Contaminated Waste

Sharp contaminated wastes are commonly the tools or equipment in the medical industry and often stand out with the growing use of different sharp tools such as needles, syringes, and scalpels that are exposed to blood and fluids from humans or animals. Appropriate disposal methods must be followed, wherein you place the equipment in puncture-proof storage and in disposed in on-site or off-site incinerators.

Contaminated PPE and Disposables

Contaminated PPE and disposable tools are found in multiple industries. Specific examples are gloves, factory aprons, safety goggles or basically equipment that are personal and exclusive and can be exposed to bodily fluids and hazardous or chemical wastes such as paint fumes, toxic particles or splashes.