Medical Waste Management Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2032

This report describes and explains the medical waste management market and covers 2017-2022, termed the historic period and 2022-2027 termed the forecast period, along with further forecasts for the period 2027-2032. The report evaluates the market across each region and the major economies within each region.

The global medical waste management market reached a value of nearly $17.0 billion in 2022, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6% since 2017. The market is expected to grow from $17.0 billion in 2022 to $21.7 billion in 2027 at a rate of 5.0%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2027 and reach $27.6 billion in 2032.

Growth in the historic period resulted from a strong emerging markets growth, a growing number of government-sponsored programs, an increased healthcare spending, and an increased volume of medical waste. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were a lack of awareness about health hazards associated with medical waste, and a high cost of medical waste management services.

Going forward, an increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, an aging population, and an increasing population will drive the market. Factors that could hinder the growth of the medical waste management market in the future include the Russia-Ukraine war impact, and a rise in interest rates.

The medical waste management market is segmented by type into bio-hazardous or infectious waste, and non-hazardous waste. The non-hazardous waste was the largest segment of the medical waste management market by type, accounting for $13.1 billion or 77.0% of the total market in 2022. The non-hazardous waste market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 5.1%.

The medical waste management market is segmented by treatment into incineration, autoclaving, chemical treatment, and other treatments. The incineration market was the largest segment of the medical waste management market by treatment, accounting for $8.0 billion or 47.2% of the total market in 2022. The incineration market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 5.1%.

The medical waste management market is segmented by services into onsite services, and offsite services. The offsite services was the largest segment of the medical waste management market by services, accounting for $10.6 billion or 62.1% of the total market in 2022. The offsite services market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 5.2%.

The medical waste management market is segmented by application into hospitals, clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and other applications. The hospitals was the largest segment of the medical waste management market by application, accounting for $8.7 billion or 50.8% of the total market in 2022. The hospitals market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 5.1%.

North America was the largest region in the medical waste management market, accounting for 34.8% of the global market in 2022. It was followed by Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, and other regions. Going forward, the fastest growing regions in the medical waste management market will be Asia-Pacific and South America, where growth will be at CAGRs of 6.2% and 5.9% respectively from 2022-2027.

The global medical waste management market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of small players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 24.73% of the total market in 2022. Stericycle, Inc was the largest competitor with a 8.98% share of the market, followed by Waste Management, Inc with 6.25%, Veolia Environmental Services with 4.38%, Clean Harbors, Inc with 1.80%, Suez Environmental Services with 1.26%, Republic Services, Inc with 1.11%, Sharps Compliance Inc with 0.41%, Daniels Health Inc. with 0.30%, Biomedical Waste Solutions, LLC with 0.13%, and Remondis SE & Co KG with 0.12%.

The top opportunities in the medical waste management market by type will arise in the non-hazardous waste market, which will gain $3.7 billion of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the medical waste management market by treatment will arise in the incineration market, which will gain $2.3 billion of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the medical waste management market by services will arise in the offsite services market, which will gain $3.0 billion of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the medical waste management market by application will arise in the hospitals market, which will gain $2.4 billion of global annual sales by 2027. The medical waste management market size will gain the most in the USA at $1.3 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the medical waste management market include a focus on recycling technologies, new facility expansions, the use of microwave technology, product innovations, a focus on sustainability initiatives, and strategic mergers and acquisitions.

Player-adopted strategies in the medical waste management industry include a focus on strengthening the business capabilities through the launch of new products, and a focus on enhancing the operational capabilities through business expansions.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the recommends the medical waste management companies to focus on new facility expansions, focus on use of microwave technology, focus on product innovations, increase focus on non-hazardous waste, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on mergers and acquisitions, provide competitively priced offerings, continue to use B2B promotions, participate in trade shows and events, and continue to target fast-growing applications.