The COVID-19 pandemic instantly increased demand for some types of medical waste management, such as the disposal of personal protective equipment and testing supplies. Waste management companies met this challenge last year, but it required a lot of flexibility, they said.
This year, health care providers have to dispose millions of needles and empty vaccine vials. But a shortage of sharps containers, the plastic buckets in which clinicians throw away old syringes and vials, is a problem.
