Table 2.

Categories of biomedical waste

Sr. No	Category	Examples
1	Infectious waste	Pathogenic microorganism. Inanimate objects used in autopsy, surgery and treatment of infected patients and animals contaminated with infectious blood, humor, microbes
2	Pathological waste	Blood, humor, tissue, organs, human foetuses and animal dead body
3	Sharp	Syringes, needles, scalpels, saws, infusion sets, knives, blades, broken glass etc
4	Pharmaceutical waste	Expired, unused drugs, vaccines and sera. Contaminated pharmaceutical products
5	Genotoxic waste	Contaminated vomit, urine, or faeces of patients treated with cytotoxic drugs, chemicals, and radioactive materials
6	Chemical waste	Scrap solid, liquid, or gaseous chemicals if they are toxic and harmful
7	Waste with heavy metals	Mercury, cadmium, and lead
8	Radioactive waste	The radioisotopes used in vitro & in vivo analysis, and treatment