23.4 Methods of healthcare waste treatment and disposal
23.4.1 Steam sterilisation (autoclaving)
Steam sterilisation is one of the most common methods of treatment of waste. It uses saturated steam within a pressurised vessel called an autoclave (see Figure 23.3) at a temperature that is high enough to kill pathogenic microorganisms. Contaminated items or waste should be sterilised for 30 minutes at 121oC at a pressure of 106 kPa. You should note carefully that the timing should start only after it has reached the necessary temperature and pressure.
kPa is the abbreviation of kiloPascal, a unit of pressure.

23.3.7 Waste storage