Bio-waste at homes a concern: Epca
nNEW DELHI: The Supreme Courtappointed Environment Protection (Prevention and Control) Authority (Epca), in its report released on Thursday highlighting the status of handling of biomedical waste in Delhi-ncr, said that in July, Delhi generated around 350 tonnes of medical waste from Covid-19 patients daily.
The report also suggested the need for better segregation of biomedical waste in households and quarantine centres housing Covid-19 patients.
The report stated that the volume of waste generated in June was marginally higher, 372.47 tonnes per day, but this was because biomedical waste from patients in home isolation and quarantine centres was not segregated and so general waste was mixed with it. In May, the quantum of biomedical waste generated was 25.187 tonnes per day.
Also, it said that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was an increase in the amount of plastic waste being generated in the form of PPE kits, gloves and face shields, among others, which in turn was adding to the problems of general solid waste management in the city. “The collection of such waste—which is not from infected households or quarantine centres—is a huge challenge as it increases the need for segregation at the household level so that general waste can be recycled and is not sent to landfills,” the report stated.
The report is based on the data shared by the Central Pollution Control Board and state pollution control boards of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Rajasthan.
“CPCB assesses that at the current rate of biomedical waste generation and if there is adequate segregation, then the Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWTFS) are adequate in the region,” it said.
It further said that while the system for the collection of biomedical waste from healthcare facilities and registered laboratories is well established, the biomedical waste generated in homes and quarantine centres is where the key complication arises, as urban local bodies (and increasingly village panchayats, as positive cases increase in rural areas) have to track patients in realtime and then set up systems for the collection of waste from individual households located in different parts of the city.
Epca chairman Bhure Lal said that so far the handling of biomedical waste has been satisfactory. “Households must be educated and must cooperate in the task for better management of such waste,” said Lal.
Experts said that there could be a waste crisis if proactive steps are not taken by government agencies. Sirajuddin Ahmed, a professor at the civil engineering department in Jamia Milia Islamia, said, “The key to tackling this waste is to provide people with the facility to dispose of this gear safely. The government will also need to create awareness.”