The hazards posed to the natural environment by waste, including hospital waste, are increasing visibly, and regulations aimed at protecting the environment from degradation are very strict. A new industry dealing with treatment of industrial, municipal and hospital waste has developed. Most publications on this subject offer incineration as a means of waste disposal and treatment. This method of waste management, however, forms dioxin compounds which are among the most poisonous organic substances. An original method of hospital waste disposal, unknown in Poland, is presented in the article. This method has been approved by the Sanitary and Epidemiological Council as a good national solution in comparison with facilities abroad.
There are particular problems is the disposal of hospital waste. They problems stem from the diversity od substances it contains, the variety of its sources, the various ways it is collected and its potential to cause bacterial infection. For years studies have been continuing on designing an environmentally safe incinerator for hospital waste. The state of the art in this field was represented during the POLEKO'92 trade fair in Poznań. The author reviews the most interesting designs.
Przedstawiono rodzaje i pochodzenie odpadów wiejskich oraz sposoby ich utylizacji. Wskazano na zagrożenia z rosnącej masy odpadów i brak skutecznych metod ich utylizacji. Podkreślono konieczność segregacji odpadów, odpowiedniego ich składowania i włączania unieszkodliwionych odpadów biologicznych do ponownego obiegu ekologicznego.