en Environmental Health, Sciences, and Engineering Original articles <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Introduction:</span></span></span></i></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> Special and infectious wastes are the most significant wastes generated in hospitals, health centers, and similar facilities. Reducing and recycling such wastes at the source pose significant challenges to waste management. Therefore, this study assesses the components of healthcare waste in terms of their recyclability, emphasizing different types of plastic.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Materials and Methods:</span></span></span></i></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> Data collection involved sampling normal and infectious waste in selected hospitals over three months using monthly checklists. The total waste generated in these hospitals was analyzed on a daily basis. Moreover, the average microbial load of infectious waste was determined through microbial strip tests and biological tests following patient companion. Tests were performed with the acceptable performance of safe hospital devices with the destruction of microorganisms.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Results:</span></span></span></i></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> Average waste composition in the selected hospitals included 65-70% </span></span></span><span advp41461e="" class="fontstyle01" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><span style="font-weight:normal"><span style="font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%">general waste</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> and 30-35% infectious waste. The most common generated infectious waste was polyethylene (PE) sets (800 kg/month), while the predominant </span></span></span><span advp41461e="" class="fontstyle01" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><span style="font-weight:normal"><span style="font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%">general waste</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> was nylon bags for polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) packaging (520 kg/month). Hospital 1 had the highest per capita production of recyclable waste, generating 7,900 kg and 2,550 kg of normal and infectious waste per month, respectively. The total revenue generated from selling normal and infectious plastic waste was 1.4 and 0.2, respectively.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Conclusion:</span></span></span></i></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> The mixing of waste can be prevented by properly segregating normal and infectious waste and adequate staff training. Given the escalating disposal costs of </span></span></span><span advp41461e="" class="fontstyle01" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><span style="font-weight:normal"><span style="font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%">health-care waste (HCW)</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> and the shrinking space in landfills, efforts to minimize waste generation are crucial for effective recycling and reuse processes.</span></span></span></div> Equipment Reuse,Medical Waste Disposal,Economic,Recycle,Hospital. 2225 2234 http://jehsd.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-666-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Masoumeh Bagheri masoome.bagheri72@gmail.com 0000-0002-2485-329X No Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. Ehsan Abouee Mehrizi ehsan.abouee@gmail.com 0000-0003-2128-8317 No Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. Roghayyeh Koupal koupalhse@yhoo.com 0000-0002-1071-2381 No Volunteer at Northshore Health System IL,US. Mehdi Mokhtari 0000-0003-2278-7329 Yes Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.