Patent ID: 7303082

Claim:
A waste system comprising: a plurality of container compartments, each container compartment configured to receive a removable container; a plurality of removable containers, wherein each of said removable containers comprises an opening; a movable lid associated with each of said removable containers; wherein the removable containers are configured to be placed within the container compartments, wherein each of the removable containers is associated with at least one of a plurality of medical waste categories, wherein the movable lid is movable to an open position; and wherein the movable lid is movable to a closed position; a waste item identification device configured to receive information regarding a medical waste item; a control system configured to assign the medical waste item to a medical waste category, wherein said assignment is based on the information obtained from the waste item identification device and medical waste item classification information; wherein the control system is further configured to identify one of removable containers based on the medical waste category; wherein the control system is further configured to allow the movable lid associated with the identified removable container to move to the open position; and at least one of said removable containers comprising at least one of a color or a pattern; and wherein the control system is configured to automatically determine the waste category associated with the container based on said color or pattern.