Patent ID: 7303081

Claim:
A method for sorting a plurality of medical waste items, the method comprising: providing a plurality of container compartments, each container compartment configured to receive a removable container; providing a plurality of removable containers, wherein each of said removable containers comprises an opening; providing a movable lid coupled 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; providing a handheld waste item identification device configured to determine a information on a medical waste item; providing a control system that compares information obtained from the handheld waste item identification device with medical waste item classification information contained in a database; assigning the waste item to at least one medical waste category; and identifying one of the removable containers based on the medical waste category; allowing the movable lid of the identified removable container to move to the open position to permit disposal of said medical waste item; and locking the movable lid after receipt of a medical waste item.