REGISTRATION OF HEALTH CARE WASTE TRANSPORTERS
Companies or individuals that provide a commercial service as Healthcare Waste Transporters must register with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. This is a legal requirement, in accordance with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s Municipal Health By-law – Chapter 8, Section 29 (1) – promulgated on 24 March 2010.
THIS IS AN ONCE-OFF REGISTRATION, FREE OF CHARGE
Upon registration, Health Care Waste Transporters must take note of the duties and responsibilities of the transporters of Health Care Waste, as stated in Chapter 8, Part 3, sections 26, 27, 28, 29 & 30 of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s Municipal Health By-law.
Definition of HEALTH CARE WASTE
"Healthcare waste” means waste generated by a hospital, clinic, nursing home, doctor's offices, medical laboratory, research facility, dental practitioner, medical practitioner, traditional healer, traditional surgeon and veterinarian or any other place where health care waste is generated that is infectious or potentially infectious, and includes –
- microbial wastes, including wastes inclusive of cultures and stocks of infectious wastes and associated biologicals that can cause disease in humans;
- human blood and blood products, including serum, plasma and other blood components;
- pathological wastes of human origin, including tissues, organs and body parts removed during surgery or autopsy;
- contaminated animal wastes, including animal carcasses, body parts and bedding which have been exposed to infectious agents during medical research, pharmaceutical testing or production of biologicals;
- isolation wastes associated with animals or human beings known to be infected with highly communicable diseases; and
- contaminated and uncontaminated sharps, including clinical items that can cause a cut or puncture or injection, such as needles, syringes, blades and microscope slides;
- used medical equipment and other medical material which are capable or are reasonably likely to be capable of causing or spreading disease or causing or spreading infection, such as used surgical dressings, swabs, blood bags, laboratory waste, blood collection tubes, colostomy and other catheter bags, gloves, drip bags, administration dines and tongue depressors;
- pharmaceutical products of which the period of use has expired or which have been contaminated or have been stored improperly or are no longer required, such as human and animal vaccines, medicine and drugs;
- genotoxic chemical waste and radio isotopes from experimental or diagnostic work or any other source.