A healthcare waste log for clinics in Pakistan
Every clinic produces infectious waste, sharps and expired medicines, and every province now has rules about where they go. Inspectors don't only look at the bins; they ask for the record of what left the clinic, when, and with whom. In PHC's inspection drive of September 2026, waste disposal was among the failings found, and four facilities were sealed, one of them a dental clinic.
This page sums up what the waste rules ask of a small clinic, and shows FindClinica's Waste Disposal log, which keeps that record in a few seconds per entry.
Updated
Which rules apply
Islamabad still follows the federal Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005. Punjab has the Punjab Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2014, which replaced the 2005 rules there. Sindh has the Sindh Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2014. All three define a hospital to include a clinic, so a two-chair practice is covered as much as a hospital is.
| Federal 2005 (Islamabad) | Punjab 2014 | Sindh 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infectious (risk) waste | Yellow bags with the biohazard symbol, date and source | Yellow bags | Red |
| Sharps | Yellow puncture-proof container marked "DANGER! CONTAMINATED SHARPS", closed when three-quarters full | Yellow sharps container | Red |
| Pathological, pharmaceutical, chemical | Risk waste, yellow | Risk waste, yellow | Yellow |
| General (non-risk) waste | White bags | White bags | Black or white |
| Records | A waste management officer; weekly record of quantities; consignment notes for transport | A waste team notified to the EPA and a waste management officer; weekly quantities; consignment notes; an EPA-authorised contractor | An annual waste plan to SEPA; records kept and open to inspection; spills reported |
Summarised from the rules (rule numbers in the sources). The Sindh column is from a published copy of the rules; check the official text before you rely on it.
In Punjab, an EPA order of November 2025 told healthcare establishments to apply for authorisation through the EPA's portal, and warned that failing to do so could stop their operations.
Waste that is special to dental clinics
Amalgam. Pakistan ratified the Minamata Convention on mercury in December 2020, and at the convention's 2025 meeting the parties agreed to end the making, import and export of dental amalgam by 2034, with an exemption for clinical need. Keep amalgam scrap and capsules separate, and don't send teeth with amalgam fillings for incineration; the US CDC advises sending them to a metal recycler instead.
Extracted teeth are treated as infectious waste; the CDC calls them regulated medical waste. They can be given back to the patient if they ask.
X-ray films. Environmental guidance for dentists, such as Washington State's, says to recycle the lead foil from film packets rather than throw it away, and to keep fixer (which carries silver) separate from developer. Clinics on digital X-rays avoid most of this.
Most of it isn't hazardous
WHO estimates that about 85% of healthcare waste is general, non-hazardous waste. The rest is what the rules are about. Segregating properly at the chair, in the right bin, is what keeps the hazardous share small and the contractor's bill down.
The waste log in FindClinica
Open Clinic Management, then Waste Disposal, and press New Disposal. The date and time fill in by themselves. Pick the waste type: infectious or biohazard, sharps, non-infectious or general, pharmaceutical, chemical, pathological, or other. Add where it was collected from, which the app remembers for next time, and optionally the number of bags or the weight in kg, lb or grams. Add a note, such as the contractor or the batch of expired drugs, and choose the staff member who authorised it.
The list can be filtered by waste type, and an entry can be edited later with a long press. The print button makes a report for all entries, or the last 30 days, 90 days or 12 months, with the clinic's name and a table of date and time, waste type, location, quantity and notes.
The log is your clinic's own record. Keep the contractor's agreement and the consignment notes or manifests they give you on file as well; the rules ask for those, and an app entry doesn't replace them.
Common questions
How often should I log waste?
Each time waste leaves the clinic, usually when the contractor collects it. The federal and Punjab rules ask for quantities to be recorded weekly.
Do I log every sharps container?
Log each collection. A sealed sharps container is one entry with the number of containers or bags.
Can the receptionist log it?
Yes, from the reception computer or any device connected to the account, and pick the staff member who authorised it.
Does it need internet?
No. Entries are saved on the device and sync later.
Read next
- Sentinel event and incident reporting
- Clinic software in Lahore (PHC)
- Clinic software in Karachi (SHCC)
- Clinic software in Islamabad (IHRA)
More for clinics in Pakistan
- Dental Clinic Software in Pakistan
- Clinic Management Software in Pakistan
- EMR Software in Pakistan for Small Clinics
- Prescription Software for Doctors in Pakistan
- Patient Record App for Doctors
- Paper Register vs Excel vs Clinic Software
- Best Clinic Software in Pakistan, Compared
- Clinic Management App for Android
- Clinic Software in Lahore
- Clinic Software in Karachi
- Clinic Software in Islamabad
- Software for Clinics With More Than One Doctor
- Online Prescription Maker for Doctors
- Software for Orthodontists in Pakistan
- Clinic Software That Works Offline
- How to Read a Periodontal Chart
- Patient Complaint QR Code for Clinics
- Sentinel Event and Incident Reporting for Clinics
- Patient Aftercare Instructions on WhatsApp
- Free Clinic Software for Windows
Free tools and templates
Sources
- Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005 (SRO 1013(I)/2005)
- Punjab Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2014
- EPA Punjab authorisation order under rule 28 (November 2025)
- Sindh Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2014 (published copy)
- WHO: Safe management of wastes from health-care activities, 2nd edition
- WHO fact sheet: health-care waste
- Minamata Convention: status of ratification
- FDI World Dental Federation: COP-6 decision on dental amalgam
- CDC: extracted teeth
- Washington State Department of Ecology: dental waste
- Pakistan Observer: PHC inspects 1,856 healthcare facilities (2026)
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