Part of Lesson Plan: Which Waste goes Where?

Activity Overview / Details

Show 3 containers, regular trash can, biohazard bag and biohazard sharps. Real containers would be best.  A local doctor's office or hospital may give you some if you cannot buy them.

Pictures should be in the student textbook.  Sharps containers may be purchased through catalogue such as Moor Medical supply at Moormedical.com.

Ask students, What do you think will happen if a sharp object such as a needle or broken glass, also known as a sharp, goes into a regular trash container/receptacle?  

 Ask students, What could potentially happen to someone?  Possible responses include  1) a person could get cut or their skin would be broken and they would bleed; 2) a person could get a blood borne disease like hepatitis; 3) It would be a unsafe situation; etc.

Explain that biohazard waste, which is waste that is contaminated with bodily fluids, is not placed in regular trash receptacles, but must be placed in specially labeled trash bags and containers.  Additionally, biohazard waste has specific way that it must be discarded. If healthcare agencies do not properly discard biohazard waste there are signficant fines for improper disposal. 

Most  hospitals will trade filled sharps containers with new empty sharp containers. Healthcare faclities usually contract services to dispose of biohazard waste.

Show different wastes and demonstrate putting them in the correct container, saying why.

Examples could be:

• tongue depressor
• patient gown
• blood soaked gauze-biohazard waste
• sutures-biohazard waste
• needle-biohazard sharps
• microscope slide-biohazard sharps
• Anything you have could be used, so long as there is one for each type of waste.