Medical waste disposal is a concern for both the medical industry and the sanitation industry. The medical industry creates an enormous amount of medical waste. Moreover, medical waste, such as syringes, catheters, tracheotomy tubes, blades, and surgical needles, may be contaminated with bacteria and/or viruses, and accordingly, proper disposal of the medical waste requires extra measures and steps beyond general waste disposal procedures. Medical waste contaminated with bacteria and/or viruses must be handled carefully by medical providers and sanitation workers to prevent their exposure to the bacteria and/or viruses.
Besides concerns regarding contamination, medical waste should be reduced in size to conserve landfill space, to reduce the labor involved in disposing the medical waste, and to reduce the amount of space that medical facilities must dedicate to waste management.
Medical waste, when properly sterilized and separated, may also be recycled. Plastics and metal form most of the constituent parts of syringes, catheters, tracheotomy tubes, blades and surgical needles.
There have been many attempts in the prior art to provide for a medical waste disposal device that grinds or reduces medical waste. Unfortunately, many of the prior art designs are inoperable or are prone to jamming. Moreover, many of these prior art devices are too large or too expensive to be suitable for an individual hospital room. Other shortcomings in the prior art include a failure to provide for a working and portable medical waste disposal device.
As described above, there is a need for a medical waste disposal device that provides for sanitary and efficient operation and further provides the potential for recycling.