Aspects of medical waste management plans – The Syrian example

Medical waste is considered a biohazardous waste, with a high potential for causing injury and infection to medical personnel and refuse workers. The risk of medical waste can be reduced by managing medical waste based on a number of principles such as the polluter pays principle, duty of care principle, the cradle to grave principle, etc. By formulating these principles into specific aspects dealing with the legislative; organizational; administrative; financial; and communication mechanisms, one obtains the core elements of what is typically referred to as a “National Integrated Medical Waste Management Plan”. These aspects are described and discussed in this paper.