Marketing Information
 (Revised 9Feb99 at 20:29)

The below information was compiled from recent magazines, publications and the Officers and Consultants of Hawkins Industries, Inc.:

As of April 1997, there are no commercial medical waste treatment facilities in the City of Indianapolis or the State of Indiana.

  1. Medical Waste Handbook - 1996 Edition

    800-323-1336 - David S. Freeman & Gregory H. Siskind

    1. Regulations concerning medical waste generally are limited to the regulation of "potentially infectious" or "red bag" wastes, which comprise only a portion (approximately 20% percent) of the wastes generated at medical treatment facilities, but which pose the most serious potential health and environmental problems if not treated and disposed of properly.

    2. Growth in the "commercial" medical waste disposal industry, in terms of volume has exploded during the past few years. As the "baby boomers" reach an age requiring more frequent health care and as the nation's population in general increases, more health care services will be necessary and, correspondingly, more medical waste will be generated.

      Market Intelligence Research Corp. is predicting revenues will increase from $1.14 billion in 1991 to $2.56 billion by 1998

    3. Infectious Waste News cited a report by A.D. Little predicting the market will "quadruple to revenues of $2 billion annually by the year 2000, and that 77% of the business will be done by commercial firms by then, using a variety of treatments".

    4. Technological advances in treatment methods should make current on-site treatment methods increasingly costly and obsolete, this encouraging hospitals to either purchase new technology or transfer their waste management business to private hauling firms if they are able to offer cheaper an safer treatment alternatives.

    5. According to 1990 estimates by the United States Government Accounting Office (GAO) and the EPA, there are approximately 1 million medical waste generators in the United States who produce approximately 4 million tons of medical waste each year. Included in those 4 million tons of medical waste produced annually are 500,000 tons of "infectious" medical waste, 385,000 tons of which is generated by hospitals. Thus, approximately 75 to 80 percent of all medical waste is generated by the nations approximately 7,000 hospitals. The EPA estimates that eight to thirteen pounds of infectious waste are generated each day by each hospital bed utilized. A more accurate estimate is probably four pounds per occupied bed per day.

    6. In 1990 hospitals comprise only 3.8 % of the total number of regulated medical waste generators, but generated 86.1% of the total volume of regulated medical waste generated.

      Other generators (and percentage of total waste generated) of medical waste include medical schools, physical therapy schools, physicians' offices (5.67%), outpatient clinics (3.59%), employee clinics, home health care agencies, funeral homes (0.84%), nursing homes (6.36%), dialysis centers, veterinarians (0.99%), dentists (1.63%), ophthalmologists, research and forensic labs (3.31%), pharmaceutical manufacturers, blood banks (0.52%), military bases, ports, and ships.

    7. A standard corrugated box (18" x 18" x 24") generally contains about 15-30 pounds per box. Prices for hospitals generally range from $.20 to $.40 per pound. For small generators, prices range from $15 to $35 per box.

    8. The EPA estimates that 75 percent of the nation's existing landfill space is scheduled to be used up or closed over the next ten years.

    9. Due to concerns over the cost of on-site disposal, potential liability for improper disposal, opposition from the community, the outdated nature of many on-site incinerators, the risk of technological advancements in treatment methods and equipment that will make existing methods and equipment obsolete, the risk of enactment of more stringent regulations, and the risk of equipment failure and down-time, many hospitals that formerly operated on-site incinerators have contracted with commercial hauling firms to collect, transport, treat, and dispose of their medical waste.

    10. Treatment and disposal of medical waste currently are handled in a variety of manners. As of 1991, approximately 60% of regulated medical waste was treated on-site by incineration at approximately 3,000 hospital facilities, 25% was treated off-site at approximately 75 commercial incinerators, and 15% was either treated by alternative technologies or landfilled without treatment.

  2. Waste Age Magazine - June 1995 by Michael G. Malloy

    1. The U.S. EPA's current requiring of medical waste incineration standards likely to result in a projected shut-down of 80% of the nation's estimated 3,700 on-site hospital incinerators.

  3. Waste Age Magazine - July 1996 by Antoinette Valentin

    1. The agency (U.S. EPA) estimates the rule could have the effect of closing as many as 80% of the nation's estimated 2,400 on-site hospital medwaste incinerators. Hospitals that operate these systems will have to switch to either on-site alternative treatment technologies or use off-site commercial services.

  4. Waste Age Magazine - July 1996 by Michael G. Malloy

    1. The "red bag" waste stream is being treated by many technologies as firms scramble to fill a potential void once incineration is curtailed.

    2. In the States of Illinois (191), Indiana (70), Kentucky (9), Michigan (157), and Ohio (31), there are 458 on-side incinerators located at hospitals or other medical waste generators.

    3. The use of alternative technologies is an area of growing interest due primarily to U.S. EPA's ongoing process in promulgating an air emissions rule that is likely to result in the closure of many on-site hospital medical waste incinerators nationwide.

    4. Commercially, medical waste continues to be a viable business. Prices (from hospitals) that had been in the teens are beginning to show signs of life. Many companies reported in the past year that prices were at least 20 to 30 cents per pound in most metropolitan areas.

  5. Waste Age Magazine - August 1996 by Hazmat News

      On-Site Hazwaste Incinerators Closing at Significant Rate - The number of industrial facilities with on-side incinerators has fallen by more than 11% over the past two years, according to a recent report issued by Environmental Information, Ltd. of Minneapolis (EI).

      According to EL, the U.S. EPA estimates that on-site and captive hazardous waste incinerators burn approximately 800,000 tons of waste per year. Research conducted by EI suggests "that the true total is well over 1 million tons."

      A new EPA rule will set standards for emissions of metals, dioxin, particulate, and other pollutants. It is estimated that these rules will force more than half of all on-site incineration facilities to stop burning hazardous waste.

    HI's Home Page   Introduction   Project Update   Executive Summary   Contacting HI
    Project Overview   Technical Overview   Press Releases   Newsletters   Other Web Sites
    Hawkins Industries, Inc. & HI Disposal Systems, LLC = HI Companies
    Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1724, Indianapolis, IN 46206-1724 USA
    Voice: 317-693-1265 or 800-995-1265 - Fax: 317-262-1265 or 800-973-1265
    (e-mail: info@hicompanies.com - web site: www.hicompanies.com)
    Copyrighted © 1997 1998 1999 2000 by Hawkins Industries, Inc., - All rights reserved
    TERMS & CONDITIONS - The material contained on "www.hawkinsindustries.com or www.hidisposalsystems.com" may not be
    re-published, re-broadcast, re-written or re-distributed without prior written permission from Hawkins Industries, Inc.