Appendix 4: Definition of Biomedical Waste

The following definition has been taken from the 1992 Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment's Guidelines for the Management of Biomedical Waste in Canada.

Definition

This definition does not apply to microbiology laboratory waste, human blood and body fluid waste or waste sharps after these wastes have been disinfected or decontaminated.

Biomedical waste refers to waste that is generated by:

• human or animal health-care facilities
• medical or veterinary research and teaching establishments
• health-care teaching establishments
• clinical testing or research laboratories, and
• facilities involved in the production or testing of vaccines.

The following are the types of biomedical waste:

a) Human Anatomical Waste

This consists of human tissues, organs and body parts, but does not include teeth, hair and nails.

b) Animal Waste

This consists of all animal tissues, organs, body parts, carcasses, bedding, fluid blood and blood products, items saturated or dripping with blood, body fluids contaminated with blood, and body fluids removed for diagnosis or removed during surgery, treatment or autopsy, unless a trained person has certified that the waste does not contain the viruses and agents listed in Risk Group 4 of the Guidelines. This excludes teeth, hair, nails, hooves and feathers.

c) Microbiology Laboratory Waste

This consists of laboratory cultures, stocks or specimens of microorganisms, live or attenuated vaccines, human or animal cell cultures used in research, and laboratory material that has come into contact with any of these.

d) Human Blood and Body Fluid Waste

This consists of human fluid blood and blood products, items saturated or dripping with blood, body fluids contaminated with blood and body fluids removed for diagnosis during surgery, treatment or autopsy. This does not include urine or feces.

e) Waste Sharps

Waste sharps are clinical and laboratory materials consisting of needles, syringes, blades or laboratory glass capable of causing punctures or cuts.

Biomedical waste does not include waste that is:

• from animal husbandry
• household in origin
• controlled in accordance with the Health of Animals Act (Canada), formerly the Animal Disease Protection Act (Canada), or
• generated in the food production, general building maintenance and office administration activities of those facilities to which this definition applies.