Introduction: Proper management of healthcare waste is a challenge for every country. Regular controls on the treatment of healthcare waste, its collection, transport and destruction, as well as on the impacts on human health and the environment, are of paramount importance as the volumes of waste increase. By properly handling healthcare waste, we reduce and prevent risks from exposure to biological agents at work. Statistically collected and organized data show the trend of increasing amount of waste from healthcare around the world and at home. Due to the legislative frameworks that Member States are obliged to follow, the areas of waste management are regulated very similarly in the countries of the European Union. Despite uniform and prescribed practices, health risk management needs to be constantly reviewed and improved, not least because of the increase in the amount of medical waste. Aim: The purpose of the master’s thesis was to review and optimise existing protocols, work processes and decontamination of solid waste and textiles generated in the Biosafety Level 3 laboratory. Methods: By accurately describing the types, quantities, proportions and flows of solid waste and textiles (cotton clothes and cotton towels), we verified the effectiveness of decontamination by steam sterilization, depending on the change in the autoclave programme, the weight of solid waste and textiles and the time of autoclaving. The effectiveness was verified on the basis of the obtained results of physical parameters – temperature, time and pressure – and with the help of two biological and one chemical indicator. Results: The success of decontamination of solid waste and textiles was influenced by the following factors: the number of autoclaving bags used, the method of sealing the autoclaving bags, the weight of solid waste and textiles, and the time, temperature and pressure of steam sterilisation. Decontamination of solid waste autoclaved in two autoclaving bags was unsuccessful in the case of a bag more tight closed with a plastic strap. It was also unsuccessful with shorter autoclaving times. Decontamination of textiles was unsuccessful with higher volumes and shorter autoclaving times. Discussion and conclusion: In our research, we found that factory settings of autoclave programs are not suitable for all types and quantities of solid waste generated in the Biosafety Level 3 laboratory at the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology of the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana. We have shown that the solid waste decontamination process can be adapted by increasing the steam sterilization temperature to 134°C and reducing the time to 10 minutes. For decontamination of textiles, we have confirmed that the current autoclaving protocol at 121 °C with a time of 30 minutes is adequate.
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