1.33 billion People, a Pandemic, and Biomedical Waste

1.33 billion People, a Pandemic, and Biomedical Waste

Vaishnavi K N

When the world is faced with a pandemic, it is only natural that there is a spike in the demand and hence the production of medical equipment, medicines, and related services. And more the production and consumption, more is the waste generated. The management and disposal of

biomedical waste are to be done according to Bio-Medical Waste Management (BMWM) Rules 2016, under the provision of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1986. The waste is to be segregated at source, color-coded, and transported to common bio-medical waste treatment facilities (CBWTFs) where they undergo treatment such as incineration, autoclaving, microwaving (to disinfect), etc. Now the question is, is India equipped to deal with the surge of biomedical and plastic waste in this COVID era? To put things into perspective, as of 2018, India has 200 CBWTF in operation across 28 states, the remaining 7 do not have CBTWFs. This has not led to any significant problems as of now as the states with no CBTWF have low occurrence of cases. These facilities are not evenly distributed across all states and union territories and are struggling to handle the waste generated from 733 districts across India. It is to be noted that, the flattening of the cases curve, does not imply a flattening of the BMW curve. That is, the BMW generated does not cease to exist, the moment new cases stop occurring. This is clear from the fact that in Wuhan, China, long after the incident cases curve flat lined, CBWTFs are running at maximum capacity to dispose the waste that was generated but stored during the peak of the pandemic.

Typical to the Indian scenario, there is no shortage of policy framework to tackle this surge in BMW, all issues arise from lack of proper implementation. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has released detailed guidelines to be followed while handling, treatment, and disposal of waste generated during treatment/ diagnosis/ quarantine of COVID – 19 patients, which includes measures to be taken in, isolation wards, sample collection centers, and testing laboratories, and in quarantine camps and homecare for suspected patients. WHO, International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), and many other bodies have also released guidelines for the same. There is also the case of conflicting guidelines being issued by CPCB and State PCBs, as seen in Maharashtra. There should be effective communication between the concerned authorities and the people at the implementation end.

From used tissue paper, to facemasks, to sanitizer bottles, most homes have seen an increase in waste generated. This is especially true for houses with quarantined persons. The CPCB guidelines specifically ask such homes to store their biomedical waste in yellow bags which would be collected by CBWTF personnel. But then, lack of source segregation of waste has always been a major concern in the solid waste management scenario in our country. Maharashtra PCB data shows large fluctuation of total BMW generated, and the officials feel that it could be due to improper segregation at source. Such cases mean that, contaminated BMW could be steadily finding its way into regular municipal solid waste, and eventually our landfills, putting the sanitation workers, the large informal sector involved in waste collection and communities living near landfills in the path of direct risk of contracting the virus. We have seen first-hand what improper disposal of medical waste can do in the incidence of Hepatitis B outbreak in Gujarat in 2009, where 240 were infected. The use of recycled and unsterilized syringes and injection needles were cited as the means of transmission of the infection by health department officials.

ISWA guidelines highlight the need to train the municipal workers who collect waste from residences on regular disinfection, and following social distancing in the workplace. It also emphasizes that the vehicle needs to be disinfected often. But in reality, the sanitation workers face a dearth of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and inadequate training. The general public understood the gravity of the situation when the son of a sanitation worker tested positive in Coimbatore.

Many states are ramping up their BMW disposal capacity by adding new small scale plants, incinerators etc., but will this be enough to cater to the rapidly rising needs especially considering the unsettling reports that state that India has not yet approached the peak. Like China, we could also consider opting for compact, on site treatment machines, which grinds down and sterilizes waste, making it less risky to transport to treatment facilities. The National Green Tribunal and CPCB have been reiterating the need for source segregation of waste over the past many years, perhaps it is time the general population starts paying heed to their words.

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