In the segregation component of the survey, 86% of the healthcare
facilities indicated that they separated hazardous wastes from
domestic waste at source and stores their solid wastes in separate
plastic bags and containers. The common practice in the country is
to use black plastic bags for collecting domestic wastes, yellow or
red bags for hazardous wastes, and yellow containers for sharp
hazardous objects. Colour coded bags/containers and labelling for
waste containers were observed in most large facilities during
inspection visits. However, contrary to what was indicated in the
survey, the sit visits showed that 57% of the surveyed facilities used
inappropriate bags (black plastic bags) to collect their hazardous
waste. This stresses the importance of using correct colour coded
bags to collect the hazardous waste, and permanent supervision to
ensure appropriate practices are followed. This finding coincides
with a case study of inappropriate usage of containers and bags
for hazardous medical waste collection