WM - Trash Is King: 3 Medical Waste Stocks Worth a Look
Medical waste was already a booming business before COVID-19, but the surge in coronavirus cases may accelerate the situation. Much of the personal protection equipment (PPE) that healthcare workers use has to be thrown away as medical waste.
A Stratistics MRC report says that medical waste is expected to grow into an $18.9 billion market by 2024. U.S. hospitals alone produce more than 5 million tons of medical waste a year, according to Practice Greenhealth.
Stericycle (NASDAQ: SRCL), Waste Management (NYSE: WM), and Suez SA (OTC: SZEVY) are three of the bigger players that should benefit from that growth. While the overall business of medical waste may be down a bit over the past four months because many elective medical procedures have been postponed by the coronavirus-related shutdown, it's about to make a big jump again. As more people begin going back to their regular doctors and dentists, sterilization procedures are being increased and that likely means there will be more medical waste to dispose of.