United States Medical Waste Management Market Overview
The need to manage hazardous, infectious and dangerous medical waste in U.S. as these wastes impose a greater amount of threat to the public and the environment is believed to benefit the expansion of the U.S. medical waste management market. In the United States, medical waste management is of utmost importance, and it is one of the largest markets for medical waste management followed by the UK in Europe. With the presence of numerous healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, who generate majority of the medical waste, the medical waste management market in the U.S. is anticipated to grow significantly in the years to come. Further, the U.S. medical waste management market is slated to grow at a highest CAGR of 3% during the forecast period 2020-2027. This demand can primarily be attributed to the growing advancements in the healthcare industry. Further, the U.S. medical waste management market accounted for USD 4.08 billion in the year 2018 and is predicted to reach USD 5.25 billion in 2027. The U.S. medical waste management market accounts for the largest share in North America. According to the statistics by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an estimated 6 million tons of medical wastes was generated annually in the United States. Medical wastes include items that may be contaminates with blood, body fluids, used syringes and several others. Additionally, the market is also anticipated to grow rapidly over the years on the back of growing stringent norms in the nation to govern the management of such wastes, such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which is a public law in the U.S. that regulates the management of medical wastes generated by the healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and pharmaceuticals among others.
Market Drivers and Challenges
Growth Indicators
The U.S. medical waste management market is thriving on the back of increasing incidences of chronic diseases, rising ageing population along with the expansion of the healthcare industry. The U.S. has witnessed a significant rise in the number of chronic diseases, which includes Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart diseases, diabetes and others, as well as the expenditure on the treatment of the chronic diseases has also increased massively over the years.
The nation has also observed greater amount of expenditure on the treatment of chronic diseases as compared to other countries. As these diseases are known to be treated for a longer duration, requiring long stays in the hospitals, results in the generation of a huge number of residues and medical wastes. Moreover, the chronic diseases are also known to be a major reason behind the increase in deaths and disabilities in the U.S. Such factors have raised the necessity in the nation to recycle the single use products used during the treatment of these chronic diseases. Backed by the increasing aging population and the rising amount of medical wastes generated from the treatment of chronic diseases, along with the significant expansion of the healthcare infrastructure in the nation are some of the factors anticipated to drive the growth of the U.S. medical waste management market.
Barriers
Although 85% of medical waste is non-hazardous, the rest 15% can impose great threat to the health of the people as they may be infectious, toxic or radioactive. Lack of awareness among the healthcare professionals for managing the medical wastes along with the concern for the improper methods of medical waste management, which might be a threat to the environment, and the lack of training of proper disposal of medical wastes, which can cause serious health hazards from contamination of the medical wastes, are some of the factors anticipated that might have a negative impact on the growth of the U.S. medical waste management market.
Top Featured Competitive Landscape
Some of the key industry leaders in the U.S. medical waste management market are Clean Harbors, Inc. and Stericycle. Apparently, several industry players are expanding their services in the medical waste management market and are working on launching such services in the nation in the upcoming years.
