Patent ID: 7296688

Claim:
A 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 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 locked position; a manual input device configured to receive information on a medical waste item; a control system configured to classify said waste item based on the information received from the manual input device; wherein the control system is further configured to assign the medical waste item to at least one medical waste category; and wherein the control system is further configured to identify one of the removable containers based on the medical waste category; wherein the control system is further configured to allow the movable lid coupled to the identified removable container to move to the open position; and wherein the control system is further configured to lock the movable lid in a closed position.