Table 1. Definition and Counting Criteria of Improper Discharge Categories.

From: Motivation to Decrease Discharge Cost Results in Improper Discharge of Regulated Medical Wastes from Small Clinics: Inspectional and Statistical Evidence in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Category Description Counting criteria
Improper sealing Lid of the container is not sealed completely. When the lid is not sealed at one or more corners, it was counted as improper sealing.
Container deformation Container or lid is physically deformed, partially bent, or expanded. It shows one or more curved aspects. When container side surface or lid surface showed curved plane, it was counted as container deformation.
Overweight The weight of a container exceeds 3 kg for 1 L container, 5 kg for 10 L container, 10 kg for 20 L container, and 15 kg for 40 L and 50 L containers. When the weight of a container exceeded the weight criteria, it was counted as overweight.
Note: When RMW containers are incinerated, they are conveyed by belt conveyer (and an elevator) to the incinerator. According to technical specification of manufacturers, the weight load for conveying (and lifting) is recommended 15 kg/container or less.
Container contamination The outer surface of a container is contaminated obviously by body fluids like blood, chemicals or medical solutions. When the surface of a container or a lid shows a spot of obvious color change by contamination, it was counted as container contamination.
Container damaging Lid or a container has a crack on the surface. When the surface of a container or a lid shows an obvious crack, it was counted as container damaging.
Overflow Waste protrudes in-between a lid and a container. When a part of waste protruded in-between a lid and a container was observed, it was counted as overflow.
Needle penetration A needle or other sharps is penetrating the surface of a container or a lid. When a part of sharps including needles penetrating the surface of a lid and a container was observed, it was counted as needle penetration.
Table 2. Measurement Results of Compressive Force to Completely Seal a RMW Container.

From: Motivation to Decrease Discharge Cost Results in Improper Discharge of Regulated Medical Wastes from Small Clinics: Inspectional and Statistical Evidence in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Gender/Age/Volume Sample size* Compressive force for sealing (Unit: newton (N))
Mean Standard deviation Standard error
Female 36 184.4 79.48 13.25
Male 44 252.4 70.65 10.65
20s 32 229.9 78.55 13.89
40s 28 217.8 97.49 18.42
60s 20 214.5 63.09 14.11
20 L (Cuboid) 20 268.4 85.82 19.19
20 L (Cube) 20 182.6 59.10 13.22
40 L 20 228.8 87.40 19.54
50 L 20 207.5 71.24 15.93
Table 3. Inspection Results of RMW Containers.

From: Motivation to Decrease Discharge Cost Results in Improper Discharge of Regulated Medical Wastes from Small Clinics: Inspectional and Statistical Evidence in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Container number basis Volume basis (Unit: L)
Proper discharge Improper discharge Proper discharge Improper discharge
Container number 1472 (62.3%) 892 (37.7%) - -
Container volume - - 38607 (60.0%) 25710 (40.0%)
Gross category total* - 1172 (100%)** - 37750 (100%)**
 Improper sealing - 785 (67.0%)** - 22710 (60.2%)**
 Container deformation - 288 (24.6%)** - 10370 (27.5%)**
 Overweight - 74 (6.32%)** - 3680 (9.75%)**
 Container contamination - 10 (0.854%)** - 310 (0.821%)**
 Container damaging - 8 (0.683%)** - 370 (0.980%)**
 Overflow - 6 (0.512%)** - 290 (0.768%)**
 Needle penetration - 1 (0.0854%)** - 20 (0.0530%)**
Table 4. Cross Table of Container Numbers between Container Deformation and Overweight.

From: Motivation to Decrease Discharge Cost Results in Improper Discharge of Regulated Medical Wastes from Small Clinics: Inspectional and Statistical Evidence in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Container weight Volume No deformation Container deformation
20 L (cuboid) 20 L (cube) 40 L 50 L 20 L (cuboid) 20 L (cube) 40 L 50 L
Regular weight 20 L (cuboid) 170 - - - 2 - - -
20 L (cube) - 1374 - - - 127 - -
40 L - - 315 - - - 16 -
50 L - - - 162 - - - 118
Over-weight 20 L (cuboid) 0 - - - 0 - - -
20 L (cube) - 0 - - - 0 - -
40 L - - 0 - - - 2 -
50 L - - - 2 - - - 70
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