India’s medical waste output stood at more than 56,000 tonnes between June 2020 and 2021, according to government figures. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change recently reported that the total country’s total output of biomedical waste tallied at 56,898 tonnes. Maharashtra registered the largest amount of medical waste generated, at 8,317 tonnes. […]
medical waste
Hospital waste handling in sights of Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has taken note of hospital waste handling in the national capital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Protocols outlined by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for disposal of waste such as swabs and testing kits ought to be “scrupulously followed”, the High Court told the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led state government. This […]
Biomedical waste a challenge during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a challenge for those tasked with the handling of biomedical waste. As The Times of India reported last month, “COVID-19 presented a unique challenge before the country where it has currently to deal with unestimated [sic] amount of biomedical waste…exclusively from dedicated COVID hospitals, quarantine centres and home quarantine facilities in […]
Biomedical waste flagged by Bihar authorities
The Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) has ordered the closure of 318 health facilities in the state over improper biomedical waste disposal, highlighting a national pollution and sanitation issue. “These healthcare units earlier disposed their biomedical wastes through the CBWTF [common biomedical waste treatment and disposal facility], but later got dissociated from this system, […]
NMC penalises hospitals for dumping medical waste
A total of 23 hospitals and clinics have been penalised by the nuisance detection squad of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), which has issued fines to the tune of Rs 2.19 lakh for improper dumping of biomedical waste. Such dumping is a major pollution and sanitation issue in India. Hundreds of tonnes of medical waste […]
Medical waste pollution gets a Rs 50,000 price tag in Nainital
To address the issue of medical waste pollution, a fine of Rs 50,000 will be imposed in Nainital. The announcement came from Nainital district magistrate Savin Bansal following the dumping of medical waste near Naini lake earlier this month, for which a medical shop was forced closed by the district administration whilst two others were […]
Delhi cracks down on biomedical waste
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has ordered the closure of 32 facilities over improper disposal of biomedical waste – highlighting a major pollution and sanitation issue affecting India. Earlier this year, it was reported that hospitals in Delhi were behind schedule in adhering to the Union Environment Ministry’s guidelines concerning proper management of biomedical […]
Medical waste: A pollution crisis no-one talks about
Because of pollution, 350 hospitals and clinics in Goa face closure. This is not because of air pollution, however. It is because of a different pollutant entirely: medical waste. The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has issued show cause notices to the facilities in question because of their failure to “[apply] for authorisation and […]