Ever since the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020 biomedical waste has been increasing. Special regulations have been implemented by the state government for the separate disposal of waste accumulated during the pandemic.
The accumulated COVID waste in the state stood at 36,287 kg in July 2020. When the hospital began treating other patients as well the biomedical waste in the city almost doubled. In September 2020, 90,718 kgs were collected as biomedical waste in the city.
In the month of November 2020, when the numbers of coronavirus cases started to decrease, the amount of COVID biomedical waste also came down to 27,215 to 22,679 kgs. While this is a good sign, it is to be seen whether the number stabilises at this or will it continue to fluctuate with the number of case or other factors.
As per the central government norms the biomedical waste in the state has to be disposed within 24 hours and the waste should be disposed of minimum 75 km away from the city. In September 2020, the biomedical waste and the COVID biomedical waste was sent to the hazardous waste disposal centre at Taloja.
With masks becoming a part of our lives, the biomedical waste will continue to be more than what we had in pre-COVID times, the challenge lies in making sure that it is disposed properly in stipulated time.
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