Assessment of Hospitals' Waste Management in Jenin Governorate, Occupied Palestine

Abstract

The main aim of this research is to explore the waste management practices used by hospitals in the governorate of Jenin in the northern West Bank of Palestine. The most important types of medical waste (hazardous) and general waste generated from these centers have been identified. It was found that the percentage of the medical waste from the generated solid waste in Jenin’s hospitals had ranged between 31.2% and 43.6%. The rest was general waste similar to the household waste. The results showed that the distinction between wastes was not according to fixed rules and standards. For example, the disposal of medical waste was mixed with household waste without special treatment or handling of medical wastes. Regarding the liquid medical wastes, it is discharged in the system of domestic sewage without any treatment. Deficiencies in hospitals toward the management of solid medical wastes are clearly shown. They were mainly related to the unsound practices of waste management, where there was no effective separation at the source, methods of waste collection and storage were not suitable with inadequate financial and human resources for the sound management, and anti-poor waste disposal control. This study recommends that there should be programs for effective management of medical waste, and multi-sectoral with set of responsibilities. This requires cooperation and concerted efforts of all stakeholders all relevant partners and all relevant partners