Units in India increase by 3.5%
Even as biomedical waste (BMW) generation in India grew from 559 tonnes per day to 619 tonnes per day between 2017 and 2019, the percentage of treated BMW dropped from 92.8 per cent to 88 per cent, CSE director general Sunita Narain said on Saturday.
With 69 per cent untreated BMW, Bihar remained the worst offender. Similarly, with 47 per cent untreated BMW, Karnataka emerged as the second worst offender, Ms Narain said.
“During the same period, the number of authorised healthcare facilities in the country almost doubled to 1,53,885 from 84,805. But the number of unauthorised healthcare facilities also rose from 57,010 to 66,713. “On the other hand, while the number of hazardous waste generating units in the country increased by 3.5 per cent, hazardous waste generation has gone down by almost 7 per cent,” she said, quoting statistics brought to light in CSE’s (Centre for Science and Environment) e-publication.
The publication highlights the challenges posed by improper disposal of dangerous wastes—in particular biomedical waste—in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘State of India’s Environment in Figures 2021,’ as the e-publication is titled, is an annual compendium of data and statistics on key issues of environment and development. The report also shows a significant increase in Covid-19 related biomedical waste generation during the second wave. It says, “India produced 139 tonnes per day of Covid19 related biomedical waste in April 2021 as the country braced against the second wave. In May 2021, the figure escalated to 203 tonnes per day, an increase of 46 per cent.”