Hospital waste: careless disposal

Lethargy, procrastination and complacency are common traits in all spheres of life in developing countries. Experts have long been warning about the hazards of careless disposal of medical waste as they spread disease-causing germs. The media have been carrying reports about the hazards of medical waste in their efforts towards raising awareness about the dangers of unsafe disposal of waste. So far our government and health authorities have not taken satisfactory measures for safe disposal of waste. Now there is a report that only five government hospitals in Sindh have a standard operating procedure to dispose of waste using scientific methods, including sterilisation and incineration. The report says hospitals that come under the provincial health department and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation do not have a record of the amount of waste being generated by them per day.

Health experts estimate that a single bed in a hospital produces two to three kgs of disposable waste on a daily basis. According to the International Institute of Health, 90 per cent of medical waste is harmless, and only the remaining 10 per cent is hazardous. However, all hospital waste is dangerous, so hazardous waste should be disposed of scientifically. In Sindh, there are government-approved rules for safe disposal of hospital waste. Unfortunately, most hospitals do not follow the rules. The government should ensure strict enforcement of the rules. Every hospital should have an incinerator and other equipment for safe disposal of hazardous waste. It is mostly seen that hospital waste is dumped in the backyards of hospitals. The lack of proper equipment at hospitals might be due to cost-cutting measures or complacency.

There are reports of unscrupulous elements carrying out recycling of hazardous waste. Besides other things, hospital waste is recycled into baby diapers exposing infants to dangerous illnesses. Recently, there were reports of hospital waste accumulating at the Karachi shore. We do not know whether any permanent arrangements have been made to stop the practice of dumping waste near the sea.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2019.

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