Karnataka - Bangalore   

Effecting changes for effective answers

BANGALORE: Of the 2,500 tonnes of solid waste generated every day in Bangalore, roughly one per cent is hazardous medical waste. While the city has travelled an appreciable distance since the rules for biomedical waste management were framed in 1998, experts in the field say that much more remains to be done.

“Hospitals must take the initiative in segregating the waste. Waste must be separated at the source level because it cannot be done later,” says D. Gopinath, chairperson of Health Care Waste Management (HCWM) Cell and professor at M.S. Ramaiah Medical College.

“It has been 10 years since rules for waste management have been notified. Yet, about 70 per cent of hospitals and nursing homes, linked to the two common treatment facilities, are not segregating the waste. The authorities concerned must initiate action, penalise or prosecute them against those institutions that are not segregating waste at the point of generation,” he says.

Terming liquid waste management as the most neglected aspect of bio-medical waste disposal, S. Pruthvish, director of HCWM cell, says that big hospitals must set up effluent treatment plants to treat liquid waste. “Primary healthcare centres and smaller hospitals could have septic tanks,” he adds.

Spill management is also another area of concern, observes Dr. Pruthvish. “Whenever liquid waste is spilled, the area must be disinfected immediately. Hospital personnel must be trained to deal with this effectively as it poses serious health hazard.”

Shubhangi Wankhede, programme co-ordinator for Centre for Environment Education, emphasises on training hospital personnel in disposing of waste. “We need posters and pictorial manuals to guide the class four employees on segregating the waste in different containers,” she says.

These personnel must be provided with protective equipment and immunisation since medical waste is extremely infectious, says Dr. Pruthvish.

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