A Hunter Valley thermal waste treatment plant says it will start incinerating medical rubbish around the clock in response to the COVID crisis.
Weston Aluminium said demand at its plant near Kurri Kurri had ballooned during the pandemic.
In response, the plant has received approval to upgrade its emission control systems so it can burn more waste.
Managing director Garbis Simonian says the site will now operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Clinical waste includes a mixture of cytotoxic material and pathological waste, including sharps, bandages, fluids, testing equipment, pharmaceutical waste and packaging.
It is generated from surgical settings, GP clinics, hospital wards, nursing homes and isolation environments.
COVID sparks hundred-fold increase in clinical waste
The federal government previously said there had been a hundred-fold increase in clinical waste being produced to handle coronavirus outbreaks.
Mr Simonian said his phone had been ringing off the hook with requests for his furnace to burn the waste.
"People say, 'Come on, I have got a truckload, when can we send it?'
"We have to say that you have to wait, there is no room, we have to move what we have in order to be able to accept it.
Last year, the NSW Environment Protection Authority's Hazardous Materials Unit wanted assurances that Weston Aluminium could step up at a time of need.
It particularly wanted to know if the company could respond to an increase in waste due to COVID-19 and if the site was prepared.
The company said it was ready and willing to assist the community and government in its pandemic response.
It added that arrangements were in place for the transport, handling, storage and treatment of clinical and related wastes.
Other disposal options 'not as safe'
NSW Health statement said there were other methods to treat clinical waste apart from incineration, including sterilisation or disinfection followed by or preceded by shredding.
"Sterilisation/disinfection methods have included the use of microwave steaming, chemical disinfection and autoclaving," it said.
But Mr Simonian said he believed when it came to COVID, burning the waste was the safest option.
"It is not a good idea, and I think NSW should avoid that because a lot of these wastes, even if they're treated by high-temperature steam, I believe when it comes to COVID, the best form of treatment is to burn it.
"That is when you know it is definitely gone."
