Developing a master plan for hospital solid waste management: a case study.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Public Health
• Waste Management

Background:

• Rapid population growth in Khuzestan, Iran, generates substantial solid waste (approx. 1750 tons/day).
• Hospital solid waste poses significant environmental pollution risks due to inadequate management practices.
• Existing waste management does not meet environmental standards and regulations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a master plan framework for managing hospital solid wastes in Khuzestan.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of proposed management schemes.
• To rank hospitals based on their contribution to the total hospital solid waste pollution load.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multiple criteria decision-making technique, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP).
• Evaluated pollution criteria for hospital solid waste.
• Proposed a set of projects for solid waste pollution control and reduction.

Main Results:

• Hospitals near Ahvaz contribute over 43% of the province's total hospital solid waste pollution.
• Improving existing management techniques is more critical than constructing new facilities.
• The study partially applied the methodology to hospital solid waste management in Khuzestan.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework provides a methodology for formulating a comprehensive hospital solid waste management master plan.
• Prioritizing enhanced management strategies over new infrastructure is recommended.
• The AHP technique effectively ranks hospitals and quantifies their pollution contribution.