Healthcare solid waste management in South Ethiopia: a case study of Wolaita Sodo referral hospital

Healthcare facilities generate wastes that contain potentially hazardous wastes to the public and the surrounding environment. The management of these wastes is an important issue in Ethiopia. Wolaita Sodo referral hospital is one of the hospitals in the country, which has critical problems in healthcare waste management. Across sectional descriptive study was conducted between March and November 2019 to quantify, characterise, and assess healthcare solid waste management practices in Wolaita Sodo referral hospital, South Ethiopia. Observational checklists, questionnaires, and weighting scales were used to quantify the generated healthcare solid wastes. The mean generation rate of healthcare solid waste was 0.67 kg/patient/day and 0.74 kg/bed/day. Of this, 0.41 kg/bed/day (56.7%) was general waste and the rest 0.34 (43.5%) was hazardous waste. The quantity of total healthcare solid waste generated was positively correlated with the number of beds and patients (rs = 0.57, P = 0.02 and rs = 0.73, P = 0.01). Waste segregation and pre-treatment of infectious wastes were not practiced by the hospital. Solid wastes were stored, transported, treated, and disposed of improperly. Hence, waste management practices need to be improved through periodic training and adequate supplies of materials for the waste handler.