Saskatoon Health Region hospital trash is once again barred from the city's
landfill after workers spotted two bags of medical waste last month. Those rogue bags likely contained human tissue, according to the health region. Despite a concerted effort last year by the region to crack down on mis-sorted waste, two red bags designated as holding biomedical waste ended up in the landfill on July 11 and July 26, said the city's manager of environmental services, Brenda Wallace. "It was not an entire load of inappropriate materials. It was a bag," Wallace said Friday. Red bags originating from Saskatoon's three hospitals contain human tissue - typically from operating rooms - that is one square inch or larger, says Val Klassen, director of supply chain management and support services for the health region. "We recognize, and we apologize for the fact that landfill employees were stressed by this," Klassen said. City officials have now told the health region to take garbage from its three hospitals elsewhere, Klassen said. It's not the first time the city has nixed hospital trash at the dump. Workers found medical waste delivered to the landfill three times in 2012, including blood-saturated gauze, and an IV bag full of blood. Wallace said the city told the region it needed to revamp its waste management practices before the garbage was welcome back in the civic landfill. "They mounted a tremendous effort," Wallace said.
1 Comment
James Humen
8/19/2013 03:54:27 am
GFM Environmental Services mitigates the risk of improperly disposed of medical waste
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