The invention concerns a waste disposal container for use in the handling of infected, fluid-laden waste.

Waste of this kind is produced in large quantities in hospitals, medical and welfare services centres, laboratories and similar institutions, and include such articles as e.g. infected throwaway protective clothing, wound dressings and bedding as also syringes, test or cultivation tubes, infusion-liquid containers and other receptacles filled with e.g. blood or urine, dialysis filters and several other kinds of often fluid-laden materials. Because the waste as a rule is infected it must not be deposited directly on a municipal dump, not even if hermatically sealed in an enclosure. Before such a deposition the waste disposal container must be subjected to a steam disinfec¬ tion process in a sterilizer.

A conventional type of package used for these purposes is a corrugated cardboard box including an interior plastic bag containing the waste. The above mentioned fluid containers are either entirely open or sealed in some simple manner. During the treatment preced¬ ing the disinfection process liquid consequently seeps out of the con¬ tainer and collects at the bottom of the plastic bag. This liquid amount is heated by means of steam during the process essentially on the external face of the plastic bag. In the heating, condensate generates in large quantities, depending on the high specific heat capacity of liquids. For example, heating of one kilo of liquid from ambient temperature to the disinfection temperature produces approximately 160 g of condensate. The condensate collects at the bottom of the corrugated cardboard box.

A serious problem that often arises in this connection is that the condensate collected at the bottom of the corrugated cardboard softens and weakens the cardboard material. Thus, when the package is lifted out of the autoclave once the treatment is concluded, it easily happens that the weight of the waste forces the bottom to separate from the box, resulting in the waste falling out. Obviously, this is a

serious incident causing the staff concerned a great deal of incon¬ venience and delaying the handling of the waste.

However, the problem is not solved by enclosing the waste in a completely liquid-tight package. The reason therefor is that the package must allow the air inside the container to be completely evacuated and allow entrance of steam into every corner of the container if complete disinfection is to be performed.

Furthermore, it is an urgent requirement that once the waste- containing package is closed it should remain intact during the entire handling operation, from the place of collection, through the disinfec¬ tion step, and up to the final deposition, and that at each stage it should be stable enough to allow it to be lifted and stacked. At the same time it is nonetheless desired that the comparatively cheap corrugated cardboard material may be used for the package, obviating the need to use receptacles made from sheet metal, plastics, or other materials that must be retrieved from the place of deposition for reuse. Such a routine involving the circulation of a large number of containers and careful cleaning prior to each reuse of the containers obviously would make the handling of the waste considerably more expensive. In addition, it is desired that each package may be used for all types of waste as outlined above, since waste-sorting is inconceiv¬ able for sanitary reasons.

The subject invention provides a waste container solving the problems outlined above. The characteristic features of this container appear from the appended claims.

The invention will be explained in further detail in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of the waste container and Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view through the waste container in assembled condition.

The package in accordance with the invention consists of a parallelepiped box 1 made from corrugated cardboard, a tray insertable into the box 1 and also made from corrugated cardboard, and a thermostable plastic bag 3 in which waste of the above-recited nature may be collected. The tray 2 has plastic-coated interior side walls 4 and a plastic-coated bottom 5 and flaps 6, 7, 8, 9 that may be folded inwards and which in a manner known per se form liquid-tight

corner sections in the tray 2. On the bottom of the tray 2 a pad 10 or the like is intended to be deposited in accordance with the invention. This pad 10 or the like consists of a material having a high liquid- absorbing capability, and it consists e.g. of cellulose fluff, thus forming an absorbant layer.

When the container is to be put in condition to receive waste material the tray 2 is positioned on the bottom of the box 1 , the pad 10 is placed on the bottom of the tray 2 and the bag 3 is forced down into the box 1 and the tray 2, into contact with the pad 10. At its upper part the box 1 is formed with a couple of flaps 13, 14 which are folded down into contact with two opposite external faces of the box 1 , whereafter the uppermost portion 1 1 of the bag 3 is placed around the mouth portion of the box 1. In this manner an excellent waste-collec¬ tion receptacle is produced, wherein the folded-over portion 1 1 of the bag 3 protects the box 1 , preventing liquid from waste of the above- mentioned nature to penetrate between the inner walls of the box 1 and the tray 2.

Once the bag 3 has been filled with waste material its upper most portion 1 1 is closed by means of a strap 12 or the like, see Fig. 2, whereupon the box 1 is closed by joining together the flaps 13, 14, however, not hermetically.

The waste disposal container thus completed is positioned inside a sterilizer chamber which is then closed. The disinfection process is preceded by evacuation of the chamber. During this pro- cess, air is sucked out of the package. The bag 3 is provided circum- ferentially with perforations 15 extending in a line some distance below the closure portion 11. Thus, air is evacuated also from inside the bag 3. In accordance with the conventional pattern steam is admitted into the chamber alternatingly with renewed evacuation thereof, followed by steam admission and so on which is repeated a couple of times. During this process condensate collects essentially at the bottom part on the external face of the bag 3. Should the bag 3 contain comparatively large amounts of liquid the quantitiy of condensate liquid may be comparatively large. This condensate liquid is collected on the bottom of the tray 2 and is efficiently sucked up by the absorbant layer, i.e. the pad 10. Consequently, condensate liquid is positively prevented from penetrating into the corrugated cardboard

layer, weakening the latter. When the disinfection process has been completed, the sterilizer chamber is opened and the waste disposal container removed the latter still is in possession of adequate strength and may even be stacked on other similar containers and be trans- ported together therewith to a site of deposition.

The waste disposal container in accordance with the invention thus offers the considerable advantage of never having to be opened on its way from being closed at the site of collection of the waste to the site of deposition while at the same time it provides access for steam into all parts of its interior, thus allowing satisfactory disinfec¬ tion of the waste material.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated and described but may be varied in several ways within the scope of the subsequent claims. For instance the tray 2 may be provided with flaps 6, 7, 8, 9 of different configuration but still capable of forming liquid- tight corners. Instead of consisting of cellulose fluff the absorbant layer 10 could consist for instance of a powder or of compacted peat which like the cellulose material possesses extremely good liquid absorbant capacities.