The Department of Health‘‘s new consultation document "Safe Management of Healthcare Waste" has been produced as a best practice guide to the management of healthcare waste taking into consideration the requirements of Waste, Health & Safety and Carriage (Transport) Regulation. The guidance builds on existing guidance and is intended to compliment guidance already published by the relevant Government Bodies and Regulatory Agencies.

Recent regulatory changes including those introduced as a result of The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005, The List of Waste (England) Regulations 2005 and The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004 (as amended) have been included. Definitions and practical guidance on the classification of healthcare hazardous waste are given, including hazardous infectious waste and hazardous medicinal wastes, in line with existing and future guidance provided by the Environment Agency.

The guidance recommends adopting:


a new methodology for identifying and classifying infectious and medicinal wastes that complies with health and safety, carriage and waste regulations
a revised colour-coded best practice waste segregation and packaging system
the use of European Waste Catalogue codes
an offensive waste stream to describe wastes which are non-infectious