Abstract
Prior to 1984 the incineration of medical waste in New Zealand had a very poor reputation, and most of this type of waste was sent to landfill sites for disposal. This poor reputation was a result of the changes brought about by the introduction of sterile disposable plastics, which initially tended to be largely made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The great increase in the calorific value of the wastes as a result of the introduction of the throwaway plastics overwhelmed the existing incinerators, and they responded by emitting billowing clouds of acidic black smoke. It was found that some control on smoke emissions could be achieved by the careful charging and firing of the waste, but this was never enough to achieve the invisible stack plume that the public and authorities demanded.
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Bulley, M.M. (1992). Medical Waste Management in Australasia. In: Green, A.E.S. (eds) Medical Waste Incineration and Pollution Prevention. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3536-2_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3536-2_3
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