Patent ID: 7311207

Claim:
A system for sorting a plurality of medical waste items, the 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 position; an input device configured to receive a first information on a medical waste item; said input device configured to query the user for a second information as to whether the waste item is a sharps item; a control system configured to classify said waste item based on said first and second information; wherein the control system is configured to assign the medical waste item to at least one medical waste category; wherein the control system is further configured to identify one of the removable containers based on the medical waste category; and wherein the control system is further configured to allow the movable lid of the identified removable container to move to the open position to receive a medical waste item.