For more than a year now, the corona pandemic has plagued the world. With the increasing number of COVID-19 patients, there has been a substantial increase in the production of biomedical waste. Local authorities have to deal with the problem of biomedical waste disposal and waste management.
For example, injections given to corona patients, clothing and items used by corona patients during illness contain hazardous chemicals. Dumping it randomly increases the risk of corona infection.
Proper disposal of biomedical waste has always been a challenge for India. The outbreak of Covid-19 has compounded the problem. Government and private hospitals produce 10 times more medical waste due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To save the cost of its disposal, hospitals are throwing the medical waste in the open by mixing it with the general waste, which can cause many diseases.
No waste disposal system in 70% of states
The International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS) has found in its study that the risk of corona infection has increased in 23 states due to improper disposal of bio-medical waste. A recent study has been published in the Journal of Waste Management and Research. The study included the effects of biomedical waste disposal before and during the corona.
It was found that 70% of the states lack Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBMWTF) for disposal of bio-medical waste. Only 12 states are following the new rules for biomedical waste disposal.
As per the study, there are only 200 CBMWTFs in India. For a country like India, such a small number of CBMWTFs is a matter of concern.
Situation ‘worse’ in Maharashtra
IIPS professor Aparajita Chattopadhyay, who supervised the study, said: “States producing more than 100 metric tonnes of bio-medical waste need special initiatives for its disposal”.
Leading researcher Rahul Rajak said that the hill states urgently need special management. According to the data of the Central Pollution Control Board, 70 percent of the total biomedical waste in the country is generated only in Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.
According to the data, between June and December 2020 last year, 32996 metric tonnes of biomedical waste was produced in India and about 70% of it was Covid waste. The situation is worst in Maharashtra as 989 metric tonnes of corona bio-medical waste was generated.
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