Background & Objectives: Medical waste, a special subcategory of waste, is highly hazardous due to its infectious or toxic characteristics. Planning of medical waste management is necessary to prevent waste from adversely affecting human and environmental health. The objectives of this study were to determine quantity of different types of waste and clarifying existing situation of waste management in Gorgan Hospitals. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed in 8 hospitals of Gorgan in 2010. Data were collected using a checklist and a questionnaire and their validity and reliability were verified. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Average waste production in Gorgan Hospitals was 2143 kg/day and infectious, medical sharps, and general waste accounts for 47.42, 1.2, and 51.38%, respectively. Respective values for waste production rates for total waste, infectious, medical sharps, and general wastes were 2.53, 1.21, 0.015, and 1.3 percent. Conclusion: The high percentage of infectious waste indicate that despite the plentiful efforts for managing of medical wastes, the current waste management system in the hospitals of Gorgan city is well below the standard criteria particularly in segregation procedures. Training seminars for hospital personnel is recommended in order to promote personnel awareness on medical waste segregation. t is important to emphasize that the medical waste management cannot succeed without cooperation and participation of all relevant parties.

Background & Objectives: Clinical laboratory solid wastes contain important portion of municipal solid waste. These wastes include pathogenic agents, hazardous chemical compounds, and sharps that affect health of staffs and patients. This survey was performed to determine quality and quantity of solid wastes in Babol clinical laboratories. Methods: In a descriptive and cross-sectional study 12 clinical laboratories were selected based on stratified sampling method. Total solid wastes of each laboratory was collected for 3 successive days and classified into 4 categories i.e. infectious wastes, chemical wastes, sharps, and general wastes according to their quality and hazard potential. Physical analysis of general wastes was carried out through weighing for different wastes using a digital scale. Results: Average solid waste of each laboratory was 193.75 Kg per month for which general wastes, infectious wastes, chemical wastes and sharps comprised 38.67%, 51.92%, 4.64%, and 4.77%, respectively. Respective values of food wastes, paper and cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, and others in physical analysis of general wastes were 37.5%, 33.06%, 25.4%, 2.42%, 1.21%, and .41 %. Maximum and minimum of solid waste produced were 1.03 and 16.50 Kg per day and average of solid waste per patient was determined as .07 Kg per day. Conclusion: Considering extensive amounts of infectious wastes produced in clinical laboratories and their hazards, continuous supervision of hazardous waste management is necessary in order to protect and promote health of staffs, patients, and customers of these places.

Background & Objectives: Waste management practices at health centers and health posts is very important due to their significant role on transmission of infectious diseases among hospitalized patients and ordinary people as well as the environmental pollution caused through unsafe collection and disposal. This study aimed to determine the status of waste management at health centers and health posts in Ardabil city. Methods: In this descriptive study, 14 health centers and 14 health posts located in Ardabil city were investigated in 1388. Quantity of waste produced and status of storage, temporary waste sites, collection, and disposal were determined through observation and interview, in accordance with current regulations and recorded in checklist designed for this work. Results: Daily production of waste in health centers and health posts were 52.925 and 14.84 kg per day, respectively. Daily production rate of regular solid waste in health centers was 36.45 and in health posts was 11.22 kg per day. Daily production rate of infectious waste was 13.555 for health centers and 1.155 kg per day for health posts. Conclusion: The results obtained indicate that waste management in Ardabil health centers has serious problems and thus, major revision of waste management system is necessary.

Background & Objectives: Nowadays, municipal solid waste is known as an environmental pollutant which requires appropriate management. Determination of quality and quantity of the generated waste in each city and region is one of the basic requirements for the design and implementation of a proper management action. The aims of present study were to estimate appropriate management scenarios in small cities, to determine solid waste management status and quality and quantity of generated wastes.

Methods: This research was a cross-sectional study. To determine the current status of the municipal solid waste management, field survey was performed from generation steps, storage, collection, transportation, and disposal of solid wastes and the necessary information was collected and documented. Also, solid waste status from quality and quantity point of view, average daily production, per capita generation, specific weight, moisture content, chemical and physical component and energy content were determined. This study was conducted for one year (2012-2013) in Khosrowshah, East Azarbaijan.

Results: Quantitative results showed that on average 11.60 tons of waste was generated daily and the average of waste generation rate was 0.688 kg capita-1 day-1. Physical analysis demonstrated the highest fraction to be food waste with 55.41 percent followed by plastic with 13.94 percent. Also the results showed that more than 32% of generated waste was recyclable.

Conclusion: Since a significant part of the generated waste are recyclable, implementing proper management action will reduce landfill required for disposal of wastes in Khosrowshah. Moreover, a considerable portion of the waste is compostable which may reduce more than 50 percent in the wastes arrived for landfilling. However, the composition of the waste was not suitable for burning and energy recovery.