The solutions and recommendations for logistics problems in the collection of medical waste in China

Medical waste is one of the major hazardous wastes and carries a large number of pathogenic bacteria, so they could pose a big threat to the environment and human health if not being recycled and disposed properly, especially in developing countries. China has obtained great achievements about the management of medical waste in the past ten years. The studies mainly focus on the policy and regulations, processing technology, and the classification and packaging, etc. The collection process is somehow ignored in which the cost proportion and risk are high. Every year, there are some unnecessary casualties and property loss during the collection process in China. This paper pays much attention to this process and regards it as a reverse logistics activity. We analyze the collection network including the structure and flow of medical waste which recycled by the third party disposal company in China. Furthermore, the solutions are proposed to solve the existing logistics problem. Finally, the suggestions about regulations and monitoring methods during the collection process are given. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.