Are plastic infusion bottles in healthcare facilities in Vietnam collected for recycling?
- What type of health-care waste are plastic infusion bottles used in healthcare facilities in Vietnam classified as?
- Are plastic infusion bottles in healthcare facilities in Vietnam collected for recycling?
- What are the regulations on the segregation of recyclable plastic infusion bottles used in healthcare facilities in Vietnam?
What type of health-care waste are plastic infusion bottles used in healthcare facilities in Vietnam classified as?
Pursuant to Clauses 1 and 2, Article 3 of Circular 20/2021/TT-BYT:
Interpretation of terms
For the purpose of this Circular, the following terms shall be construed as follows:
1. Health-care waste refers to waste that is generated from activities of healthcare facilities, including: hazardous health-care waste, ordinary solid waste, non-hazardous emissions and liquid waste and healthcare wastewater.
2. Infectious waste refers to waste that contains or is contaminated with the human blood or pathogenic microorganisms.
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Pursuant to point c Clause 4, Article 4 of Circular 20/2021/TT-BYT:
Health-care waste classification
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4. Ordinary solid waste includes:
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c) Medicine or chemical bottles and jars, other tools that contain medicine or chemicals that do not fall under the cytotoxicity category; or bottles and jars that do not have hazard warnings on their labels;
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Health-care waste refers to waste that is generated from activities of healthcare facilities, including: hazardous health-care waste, ordinary solid waste, non-hazardous emissions and liquid waste and healthcare wastewater.
Thus, plastic infusion bottles used in healthcare facilities are classified as ordinary solid waste.
What type of health-care waste are plastic infusion bottles used in healthcare facilities in Vietnam classified as? (Image from the Internet)
Are plastic infusion bottles in healthcare facilities in Vietnam collected for recycling?
Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 3 of Circular 20/2021/TT-BYT:
Interpretation of terms
For the purpose of this Circular, the following terms shall be construed as follows:
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3. Health-care waste collection refers to the collecting process of health-care waste from where it is generated to temporary storage areas or to health-care waste disposal sites within the premises of healthcare facilities.
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Pursuant to point i Clause 4, Article 4 of Circular 20/2021/TT-BYT:
Health-care waste classification
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4. Ordinary solid waste includes:
a) Solid domestic waste from daily activities of medical staff, patients, families of patients, students, guests, and outdoor wastes within healthcare facilities (excluding domestic waste generated from isolation wards for patients who have dangerous infectious diseases);
b) Discarded chemicals without ingredients and properties exceeding the hazardous waste threshold;
c) Medicine or chemical bottles and jars, other tools that contain medicine or chemicals that do not fall under the cytotoxicity category; or bottles and jars that do not have hazard warnings on their labels;
d) Discarded bottles of vaccines other than inactivated vaccines or attenuated vaccines;
dd) Non-infectious non-sharps that are wastes without ingredients and properties exceeding the hazardous waste threshold;
e) Treated infectious wastes that meet the national technical regulation on environment;
g) Discarded sludge without ingredients and properties exceeding the hazardous waste threshold from the wastewater treatment system; ashes or slag without ingredients or properties exceeding the hazardous waste threshold from solid health-care waste incinerators;
h) Other ordinary solid wastes;
i) The list of recyclable ordinary solid wastes allowed to be collected is prescribed in Appendix 1 promulgated with this Circular.
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Health-care waste collection refers to the collecting process of health-care waste from where it is generated to temporary storage areas or to health-care waste disposal sites within the premises of healthcare facilities
Thus, plastic infusion bottles, infusion lines, plastic syringes without needles, other plastic materials which are not contaminated with or containing blood, pathogenic microorganisms, or hazardous elements are classified as ordinary solid waste and are allowed to be collected for recycling.
Therefore, plastic infusion bottles which are not contaminated with or containing blood, pathogenic microorganisms, or hazardous elements are classified as ordinary solid waste and are allowed to be collected for recycling (Section II Appendix I promulgated with Circular 20/2021/TT-BYT issued by the Minister of Health).
What are the regulations on the segregation of recyclable plastic infusion bottles used in healthcare facilities in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 7 of Circular 20/2021/TT-BYT:
Health-care waste collection
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2. Non-infectious hazardous waste collection:
a) Non-infectious hazardous waste shall be separately collected and stored at the waste storage area of a healthcare facility;
b) Discarded broken used medical equipment which contains mercury shall be separately collected and stored in containers made from plastic or other appropriate materials. These containers must ensure that there is no mercury vapor leakage or dispersion.
3. Ordinary solid waste collection: recyclable ordinary solid wastes and non-recyclable ordinary solid wastes shall be separately collected.
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Pursuant to Clause 5, Article 6 of Circular 20/2021/TT-BYT:
Health-care waste segregation
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5. Other ordinary solid waste segregation:
a) Non-recyclable ordinary wastes: put in blue bags, trash cans, or lined trash cans. Sharps shall be put in puncture-proof trash cans;
b) Recyclable ordinary waste: put in white bags, trash cans, or lined trash cans.
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Thus, plastic infusion bottles, infusion lines, plastic syringes without needles, other plastic materials which are not contaminated with or containing blood, pathogenic microorganisms, or hazardous elements shall be put in white bags and collected separately.
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