**2. Health care waste (HCW)**

The hospitals are considered as noble places, which treat sick persons and work for the health of society. The various adverse effects like high waste generation by them, their unplanned disposal, and their impact on the health of humans, animals, and the environment were generally neglected. A well-established and well-accepted fact is that Health care waste (HCW) or hospital waste is a potential challenge not only for the health care employees but for the general public and animals and plants of the surrounding environment.

HCW is anything that is produced by health care centers either of biological or nonbiological origin that needs to be discarded and is not intended for further use. It can be generated during the diagnosis, treatment, immunization, healthcare-related research activities, any such activity in healthcare centers, or hospitals. HCW may be composed of bio-waste like bodily parts and fluids, used medical materials, and also nonmedical general waste material which may be nonbiodegradable. Various sources of HCW are enlisted in **Table 2**.

