Trash-burning and medical waste incineration are of particular health concern in Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: Trash-burning and medical waste incineration are of particular health concern in Pakistan. Around 40 per cent of the waste remains either in roadside dumpsters or on the streets and is not collected by municipal waste-collection workers. In fact, the latter usually resort to burning this in the open and this is the cause of considerable pollution in our cities.
The burning of such waste releases dioxins in the air. Furthermore, they are absorbed by humans via the food chain.
All this could be prevented if residential waste was collected and transported directly to a landfill site. Municipal and local administrations need to ensure that their workers do this.
Viqar ul Haq
Published in The Express Tribune, February 28th, 2011.
