Health service waste audit guidelines

Waste audits provide a detailed analysis of waste composition, assess contamination rates and identify potential opportunities to improve waste management and reduce costs. Previous audits have shown that up to 60 per cent of clinical waste consists of general waste or recyclable materials and that 45 per cent of general waste is recyclable.

Using this document ensures that audit data is detailed enough to:

• assess contamination in waste streams
• characterise and quantify waste streams
• identify waste diversion opportunities
• identify source reduction opportunities
• assess the effectiveness of waste management systems and identify ways to improve its efficiency.