
Biomedical waste means any waste which is generated during diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities pertaining thereto or in production or testing of biological and including categories mentioned in Schedule I of U.S. controlled drug substance act. Improper management of biomedical waste poses high health risk to individuals coming in contact with it either during handling or disposal. For instance, according to statistics by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2000, injuries caused by sharps accounted for 66,000 cases of hepatitis B virus, 16,000 cases of hepatitis C virus, and 200 to 5,000 cases of HIV infections among health care personnel globally. The biomedical waste management includes steps such as collection, segregation, storage, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste material. According to the Schedule II of U.S. controlled drug substance act, there is a specific color code for the collection of biomedical waste, which depends on the type of waste material. For instance, yellow plastic bags is code for human anatomical waste, animal waste, microbiological waste, and solid waste.