Context

• The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has posed numerous challenges before India on multiple fronts –health, economy and also the environment and one such impact of the Covid outbreak on our environment is the exponential increase in biomedical waste.

What is Biomedical waste ?

• Bio-medical waste means “any solid and/or liquid waste including its container and any intermediate product, which is generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or research activities pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of biological or in health camps”.
• Biomedical waste poses a hazard due to two principal reasons – the first is infectivity and other toxicity which leads to microbiological and biological contamination.

Current Scenario

• Data suggests the average quantity of COVID-19 related biomedical waste generation during May, 2021 is about 203 tonnes per day.
• The peak generation is about 250 tonnes per day while peak generation in the year 2020 was in the range of 180 – 220 tonnes per day.
• As of now, overall biomedical waste generation is around 1000 tonnes and the facility to treat biomedical waste is also for 1000 tonnes per day.

Challenges faced in safe handling and disposal of Biomedical waste

i) The major challenge faced is the absence of facility for managing or disposing the biomedical waste generated in individual houses due to covid pandemic as 80% of people are being treated at homes rather than hospitals and has lead to the exponential rise in the quantity of biomedical waste as this waste is dumped by people along with municipal waste.

ii) Lack of Awareness among the people regarding the hazardous effects of biomedical waste towards the environment is the serious challenge which needs to be addressed.

iii) There is a special law for management of biomedical waste known as “Biomedical management rules” and a separate facility to treat biomedical waste but the guidelines are largely focused on management of waste generated out of hospitals rather than homes.

iv) Provisional or local level hospitals do not have any kind of facility for treatment of biomedical waste and is limited to certain areas.

v) Biomedical waste is highly infectious waste and frontline workers such as municipal workers are impacted severely.

vi) Biomedical waste has a high potential for spreading diseases either by polluting water bodies or infecting the workers.

vii) Increase in plastic waste due to the use of PPE kits, masks etc. 

Way Forward

• The first step towards safe handling of biomedical waste should be collection of data regarding the waste generation in all areas by the state agencies.
• Awareness drives by central & state agencies is the need of the hour to make people aware about the facilities available for managing biomedical waste.
• CPCB can frame a separate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for management of biomedical waste generated in houses and can be publicized.
• The treatment facilities can be classified separately for urban and rural areas.
• Strengthening the disposal mechanisms can be an effective and on time way forward for tackling the ongoing issue.
• Waste treatment facilities such as segregation need to be used on a wider basis.

Conclusion

• A healthy environment is very essential for a healthy life for which steps need to be taken to drastically reduce the environmental damage.

Reference:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSuR-NUUFEE