a b s t r a c t
There is a concern that mismanagement of medical waste in developing countries may be a significant
risk factor for disease transmission. Quantitative estimation of medical waste generation is needed to
estimate the potential risk and as a basis for any waste management plan. Dhaka City, the capital of Bangladesh,
is an example of a major city in a developing country where there has been no rigorous estimation
of medical waste generation based upon a thorough scientific study. These estimates were obtained
by stringent weighing of waste in a carefully chosen, representative, sample of HCEs, including non-residential
diagnostic centres. This study used a statistically designed sampling of waste generation in a
broad range of Health Care Establishments (HCEs) to indicate that the amount of waste produced in Dhaka
can be estimated to be 37 ± 5 ton per day. The proportion of this waste that would be classified as hazardous
waste by World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines was found to be approximately 21%. The
amount of waste, and the proportion of hazardous waste, was found to vary significantly with the size
and type of HCE.