1. Health Care Waste Management in Africa Today
Automated Medical Waste Tracking
How to effectively utilize technology to manage waste: - From source to destruction
Intro to SNAP Ethernet I/O AB--3/2000

2. Bad Press Reports
27 Feb 2001: Extract from Business Day
“...little control over how medical waste is stored, handled or disposed of…” Mr Khanyile – Provincial Environmental Health Director
“…province had been plagued by several incidents of illegal dumping of medical waste…”- Mr Eddie Hanekom – Dept of Health, Western Cape

3. Gauteng Health Care Waste Management Regulations
Final Draft published on 10 June 2003:
“Tracking Documents, Reporting, Record Keeping and Audit Reports……”
Regulations Applicable to:
Waste Generators
Risk Waste Transporters
Risk Waste Transfer Stations
Waste Treatment Facilities
Additionally……….

4. Gauteng Waste Information Regulations
Draft Version – 6 May 2003:
“There must be a provision for:
The establishment of a Waste Information System
Reporting formats and intervals
Registering of relevant persons
Access to waste reporting to the public
Penalties to be enforced”
How can technology be applied?

5. Technologies available today
GSM/GPRS (Cellular Communications)
GPS (Global Positioning System)
RFID (Radio Frequency ID)
Bluetooth (Short Range Radio)
Wi-Fi (RF Ethernet)
Strength lies in the combination of these technologies….

6. RFID -Tagging of Medical Waste Containers
Replacement technology for barcoding
Unlike barcodes, RFID tags can be read:
Through walls and ceilings (no line of sight is required).
In any orientation to the reader/antenna (although this could be important over long distances)
While moving (i.e. while being deposited through a return chute)
Several at a time (for instance, in the back of a medical waste vehicle)
From distances of several meters to the antenna

7. Pikitup and Netcare Tagging of Bins
Example:

8. RFID Readers
Readers Placed strategically:
On Weigh Scale
Inside Vehicle
At Incinerator
At Wash Bay

9. Process of Identification
Individual Weighing of Containers
Loading of containers into vehicle
Incineration of Waste
Decontamination of Containers
Unfortunately identification does not solve the problem: The Location is imperative.....

10. Global Positioning System
1st May US DoD turned off “Selective Availability” of GPS satellites
Accuracies of close to 1 meter now possible with “differential GPS”
Typical example is “Digital Angel”

11. Digital Angel

12. GPS & Mapping
Example of Tracking of Medical Waste Vehicle
Example of a trip “Play-back”

13. Web-Based Reporting
All interested parties have access to real-time information:
The Waste Generator
The Waste Removal Service Provider
The Authorities
The Public
Example……

14. Monitoring from “the cradle to the grave”
Summary
Monitoring from “the cradle to the grave”
Made possible by
eBox
Technology