Medical Waste Management Market by Facility Type (Hospital Waste Management [Anatomical Waste Management, Regular Medical Waste Management] Pharmaceutical Waste Management [Clinical Trial Waste Management, Manufacturing Waste Management]), by Type of Waste (Hazardous, Non-Hazardous), by Treatment Type (Chemical, Incineration, Autoclaving), by Services (Collection, Transportation & Storage, Recycling, and Treatment & Disposal), by Treatment Site (Onsite, Offsite), by Geography (U.S., Canada, Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa) – Global Market Size, Share, Development, Growth, and Demand Forecast, 2013–2023

Medical Waste Management Market Overview

Given the growing amount of all types of medical wastes, globally, and increasing regulatory pressure to properly dispose these wastes in a non-hazardous way, the global medical waste management market is expected to grow at a steady pace in the coming years. Medical waste refers to the waste originated within medical amenities, such as hospitals, clinics, veterinary hospitals/clinics, dental practices, physician's offices, laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and blood banks. There are several types of medical wastes including hazardous (such as infectious, radioactive, or toxic), universal, biohazardous (such as, red bag medical waste and sharps containers), and solid. The process of medical waste management includes transportation, treatment or destruction, disposal, and documentation of waste generated from the facility.

On the basis of types of facility, the medical waste management market has been categorized into hospital waste management and pharmaceutical waste management. The hospital waste management category is further sub-categorized into anatomical waste management and regular medical waste management, whereas the pharmaceutical waste management is further sub-categorized into clinical trial waste management and manufacturing waste management. Though the hospital waste management category dominates the global medical waste management market, the demand for both pharmaceutical waste management is also predicted to grow at a steady rate.

On the basis of type of waste, the medical waste management market is segmented into hazardous and non-hazardous waste. More than 70% of the medical waste generated worldwide is non-hazardous. By treatment type, the market is categorized into chemical, incineration, autoclaving and others. On the basis of treatment site, the market is divided into onsite and offsite. Furthermore, collection, transportation and storage; recycling; and treatment and disposal are the different types of services provided by the market players.

Medical Waste Management Market Dynamics

Stringent environment and health safety regulation by governments worldwide to drive the market demand

Growing volume of medical waste, increasing focus on the management of medical waste, and stringent regulatory framework to manage these wastes safely and in an ecofriendly way are some of the factors driving the medical waste management industry.

Medical waste management market is regulated by several, local, state and federal regulations. There are different rules in place for various types of medical wastes. State and local regulations typically pertain to the labeling, containment, storage, transportation and treatment of medical waste. With the increasing regulatory pressure, the demand for proper management of medical waste is growing from the healthcare facilities as well as commercial businesses.

In the U.S. the government has regulated the medical waste treatment under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA mandates proper disposal of any drug that meets the criteria for being a hazardous waste. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are responsible for identification and employee safe handling of medical waste as well as labelling and containment. The European market is also marked by the presence of stringent rules and regulation for healthcare waste management.

Growing volume of all types of medical waste lead to increased market demand

With the growth of healthcare and pharmaceuticals industry particularly in developing markets, the volume of medical wastes (such as, infectious, pathological and cytostatic waste, photochemical waste, offensive waste, old X-ray film, chemicals, solvents, old medicines, sharps, slides/paraffin blocks, and biological safety cabinets) is growing. This is expected to lead to growing demand of state-of-the-art disposal and recycling technologies to facilitate the treatment of all types of healthcare waste, in an efficient and environmentally compatible way, particularly in developed regions of North America and Europe.

High investment in the initial setup coupled with lack of industrial recycling facilities specially in developing countries are some of the common factors restraining the growth of the medical waste treatment market. In developing markets, the lack of awareness toward waste management and recycling, and lack of stringent regulatory measures is hindering the growth of the medical waste management market. However, the market in the countries, such as India and China is expected to witness considerable growth during the forecast period, mainly due to the rising regulatory pressure and growing awareness in these countries.

Medical Waste Market Competitive Landscape

Some of the major players operating in global medical waste management industry include, BioMedical Waste Solutions LLC, Clean Harbors Inc., Daniels Sharpsmart Inc., Hawaii Bio-Waste Systems Inc. (HBW), Healthcare Environmental Services Group, Medclean Technologies Inc., Medasend Biomedical Inc., Miller Group, Republic Services Inc., REMONDIS SE & Co. KG, Suez Environnement S.A., Sharps Compliance Inc., Waste Management Inc., Stericycle Inc., and Gamma Waste Systems.

These companies offer a number of professional waste management solutions for facilities of all sizes (including clinics, university hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, laboratories and pharmacies). There is a high demand for specialist knowledge to effectively dispose infectious waste all around the world. For instance, in 2014 after the Ebola outbreak in West Africa high demand for effective disposal of infectious waste was witnessed. The players in the market also provide various recycling services. For instance, REMONDIS Industrie Service recover high quality precious metals from the discarded film and photographic chemicals as well as silver from X-rays and provides reimbursement to facilities for these materials at the current market price.

The market study provides historical as well the forecast data for various geographies including the U.S., Canada, Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.