01 November,2020 06:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Prutha Bhosle
A staffer empties medical waste from COVID-19 patients at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar. PIC/AFP
An unfortunate outcome of the Coronavirus pandemic is mounting medical waste. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, India has generated 18,006 tonnes of COVID-19 biomedical waste in the last four months, with Maharashtra contributing the maximum (3,587 tonnes). Around 5,500 tonnes of COVID-19 waste was generated across the country in September - the maximum for a month so far.
Concerned by the figures, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has stressed on the need to halt the spread of Coronavirus through all possible infection channels, including from contact with or mismanagement of infectious waste. The UNIDO representative in India Dr René Van Berkel says, "COVID-19 biomedical waste includes PPE kits, masks, shoe covers, gloves, human tissue, items contaminated with blood, body fluids like dressings, plaster casts, cotton swabs, beddings contaminated with blood or body fluid, blood bags, needles, syringes, etc. These need to be carefully segregated, transferred and then incinerated."
Berkel thinks that this is possible only with proven biomedical waste management practices and techniques. "UNIDO works to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development and innovation. Waste management is an industry; it should be done with quality, efficiency and effectiveness without harming people and the environment, you may call this industrious," he adds.
Medical waste management has been an issue all around the globe for some time now. According to the WHO, every year an estimated 16 billion injections are administered worldwide, but not all of the needles and syringes are properly disposed of afterwards. "But, COVID-19 has changed the world in many aspects now. It is a highly contagious disease and thus we need to address the issue of waste management on war footing."
René Van Berkel
For the last seven years, UNIDO has been working to create a mechanism for scientific waste management and has collaborated with 160 project hospitals in five Indian states - Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha and Punjab. "Anything touched by an infected person can infect others. What we do is segregate the waste, pack and then label it at source. We then strictly contain the waste from source to final disposal. All our waste handlers use PPE suits as precaution. Final incineration and disposal take place at the waste treatment facilities," he explains. Since the onset of COVID-19, it has been reported that UNIDO's project interventions have resulted in achieving near-zero COVID-19 infections among waste management workers in project hospitals. "Not just hospital staff, but PPEs and masks are used at an individual level in communities, too. We suggest that these not be discarded in waste bins immediately. Used masks and PPE suits should be contained in boxes for a few weeks before they are asked to be picked by biomedical waste contractors. This way, we can ensure that local waste pickers don't get infected by coming in contact with an infected person's trash."
Biomedical waste is to be separated in yellow (infectious waste), red (for contaminated plastics), blue (for contaminated glass and metals) and white (for sharps) bags. Other hospital waste is to enter the green stream. Within the healthcare facility, this requires colour-coded bins, trolleys and holding areas, plus trained staff, committed management and foolproof tracking and information systems. The red and blue categories can be disinfected for reuse or recycling, using autoclaves or industrial microwaves. Any remaining biomedical waste is largely treated by 200 regulated Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities.
As per the annual report received from State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees (SPCBs/PCCs) for the year 2018, there were 2.6 lakh healthcare facilities generating about 608 MT per day of bio-medical waste, out of which 528 MT, about 87 per cent, was treated and disposed through either Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility or captive disposal facility. "While UNIDO works with only 160 hospitals, there are lakhs of other healthcare facilities in India that need to learn to manage their biomedical waste. Some of them are keeping waste and sanitation workers safe from infections, but these good practices need to become common practices now. The Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 are applicable to all these hospitals, and thus, UNIDO has urged them to take this up very seriously," Berkel concludes.
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