Medical waste: Recycling a distant dream

No progress on the project despite IHC directions

ISLAMABAD:

A recycling facility for medical waste for the twin cities has not been put in place despite an independent commission’s recommendations three months ago.

A German firm that had signed an MoU with the climate change ministry in May this year has stepped back from installing a facility for recycling medical and other hazardous wastes in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, a source privy to the issue told The Express Tribune.



“The German firm has pulled back after accepting a larger project in Saudi Arabia,” former director-general of Pak-Environmental Protection Agency Asif Shuja said.

“The situation will become clear once the companies submit their feasibility reports,” he said adding that if CDA took it up seriously, it could find many other companies to invest in this project.

Currently, two companies—Alba and a Malaysian firm — have shown interest in installing a recycling facility for hospital and hazardous waste, but no concrete steps have been taken.

A tussle between the CDA and Capital Administration Development Division is also causing delaying the project.



While CADD is waiting for hospitals in the capital to come under its control, the CDA, being the lone civic manager has little expertise in building and operating such facility.

In absence of a treatment plant, all hazardous waste is currently disposed of into drains along with household waste. This has serious implications on health and the environment.

Two months ago, an environmental commission constituted by the Islamabad High Court had proposed an integrated programme to dispose of solid and hospital waste.

In its report submitted before the court, the 13-member body had also supported the CDA’s proposed landfill sites, either on Kallar Kahar Road near Rawat, or on Kallar Syedan Road. The civic agency was to decide about the sites after conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA).



According to the commission’s report, over 1,200 tons of solid waste is generated in Islamabad. The report said that due to a lack of proper landfill sites, solid waste is being dumped at open sites.

“Unattended, openly dumped waste, especially under warm and moist conditions, becomes an ideal breeding place for disease-causing organisms. These badly managed heaps of waste are time bombs which can cause serious health hazards.”

Currently, the CDA only provides door-to-door collection service for Zone-I, while waste from the remaining zones is unregulated. This results in dumping of waste in different streams.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st,  2015.