Hospitals found mishandling hazardous waste: WWF
WWF-Pakistan, UNESCO conduct plastic contamination survey in ICT and Ayub National Park
PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Pakistan) Director General Hammad Naqi Khan on Tuesday said that the hospitals in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) were generating most hazardous waste which was found dumped in municipal garbage instead of being disposed of in incinerators.
Khan made these remarks at the launching of Plastic Waste Baseline Study of ICT and Ayub National Park (ANP). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) had conducted the study in partnership with WWF-Pakistan.
He said the scavengers or rag-pickers in the federal capital were largely at risk as they were directly exposed with highly infectious hospital waste being dumped on the garbage disposal site.
"The hospitals use a lot of polyvinyl chloride or synthetic plastics and generate extremely detrimental and infectious garbage. There is no segregation system of the waste and has been disposed openly with household garbage. The situation is also similar in the Galiyat area containing ANP," Khan said while presenting the findings of the baseline study.
Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) should have close coordination with the scavengers in order to introduce waste segregation system as they did not have any safety equipment to avert serious contamination while collecting waste or recycle items from the dumping site, he noted.
While narrating the recommendations of the study, Khan said the existing legal and policy framework needed to be revisited from the competent authorities. Moreover, there was also need to increase and enhance scope of recycling of waste with multiple incentives.
It was also necessary to mobilize and formalize informal waste sector through subsidies and equipment, registration of recyclers, NOCs to be given to only environmentally compliant recyclers, centralized recovery system and create public environmental awareness.
Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) Director General Raza Ali Habib said waste management in mountain ranges was a major challenge and complex thing. "The world's 42 per cent mountain ranges exist in Asia and 60 per cent of the population resides in these areas. However, we need to take all stakeholders on board to take best practical measures to turn this challenge into an opportunity which will become a risk if let go unchecked," he added.
Habib said GDA had imposed fines worth over Rs21.65 million in its anti-littering campaign on the tourists throwing garbage in Galiyat.
Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz said: “we are going to outsource waste collection and management when Sangjani landfill site was finalised to kick-start the project.”
Unesco Director Vibeke Jensen said: “we will welcome and support all stakeholders and donor agencies to partner in controlling plastic waste pollution and its management in Islamabad.”
Solid waste management, she said, requires technical solutions and mindset change solutions like education and awareness raising steps to address the matter.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2019.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Pakistan) Director General Hammad Naqi Khan on Tuesday said that the hospitals in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) were generating most hazardous waste which was found dumped in municipal garbage instead of being disposed of in incinerators.
Khan made these remarks at the launching of Plastic Waste Baseline Study of ICT and Ayub National Park (ANP). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) had conducted the study in partnership with WWF-Pakistan.
He said the scavengers or rag-pickers in the federal capital were largely at risk as they were directly exposed with highly infectious hospital waste being dumped on the garbage disposal site.
"The hospitals use a lot of polyvinyl chloride or synthetic plastics and generate extremely detrimental and infectious garbage. There is no segregation system of the waste and has been disposed openly with household garbage. The situation is also similar in the Galiyat area containing ANP," Khan said while presenting the findings of the baseline study.
Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) should have close coordination with the scavengers in order to introduce waste segregation system as they did not have any safety equipment to avert serious contamination while collecting waste or recycle items from the dumping site, he noted.
While narrating the recommendations of the study, Khan said the existing legal and policy framework needed to be revisited from the competent authorities. Moreover, there was also need to increase and enhance scope of recycling of waste with multiple incentives.
It was also necessary to mobilize and formalize informal waste sector through subsidies and equipment, registration of recyclers, NOCs to be given to only environmentally compliant recyclers, centralized recovery system and create public environmental awareness.
Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) Director General Raza Ali Habib said waste management in mountain ranges was a major challenge and complex thing. "The world's 42 per cent mountain ranges exist in Asia and 60 per cent of the population resides in these areas. However, we need to take all stakeholders on board to take best practical measures to turn this challenge into an opportunity which will become a risk if let go unchecked," he added.
Habib said GDA had imposed fines worth over Rs21.65 million in its anti-littering campaign on the tourists throwing garbage in Galiyat.
Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz said: “we are going to outsource waste collection and management when Sangjani landfill site was finalised to kick-start the project.”
Unesco Director Vibeke Jensen said: “we will welcome and support all stakeholders and donor agencies to partner in controlling plastic waste pollution and its management in Islamabad.”
Solid waste management, she said, requires technical solutions and mindset change solutions like education and awareness raising steps to address the matter.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2019.