Regulated Medical Waste Treatment Facility

Project Goal: Design the first regulated medical waste recycling and disposal operation in southern Arizona.

Medical waste, which needs to be managed properly to prevent public health and environmental issues, has valuable materials that, after treatment, are safe to recycle and reuse. Typical treatment methods involve separating medical waste into color-coded bags that are sent to landfills and incineration facilities. There are few facilities nationwide, and none in Arizona, that extract recyclable materials before waste disposal.

A regulated recycling and disposal operation involves charging waste-generating sites to collect, transport and process their medical waste. Equipment would store, sterilize, shred, dry and separate the waste. Designed equipment includes an autoclave to sterilize the waste, a rotary drum dryer to remove moisture, an air jet separator to extract paper and plastic, and an electromagnetic separator to extract metal. After separation, end products would be sent to recycling facilities, landfills and incinerators.

Income from charging medical facilities for pickup, along with selling reclaimed recyclable materials, more than offsets initial maintenance and utility costs of the operation.