Medical waste, due to its content of hazardous substances, poses serious threats to environmental health. They composed of all types of wastes generated by health care organizations such as hospitals, clinics, physicians' offices, dental offices, veterinary facilities and other medical laboratories and research facilities. This waste is very heterogeneous in nature and often contains some infectious elements, thus it is essential that the handling and disposal of the waste is conducted safely. Medical wastes that can be incinerated include:
Infectious wastes from hospitals,
Healthcare wastes from hospitals, clinics and polyclinics,
Wastes from maternity hospitals,
Expired drugs,
Surgery wastes,
Biomedical wastes,
Pathological wastes,
Pharmaceutical wastes.
About 85% of a hospital's waste is general refuse, while the remaining 15% is contaminated with infectious agents (e.g. microbiological cultures, blood and blood products, isolation wastes from patients with communicable diseases, pathological specimens and sharps).