Medical waste incineration has been the subject of intense discussion over many years and more so, in the last couple of decades. This is particularly true in a country like India where there are close to 170,000 health care centres. We have also said quite a bit about medical and bio-medical waste management in some of our earlier blogs and we wish to add some more details here.

Bio-medical waste management rules have evolved over a period of 25 years or so.  Biomedical waste comprises human & animal anatomical waste, treatment apparatus like needles, syringes and other materials used in health care facilities in the process of treatment and research. This waste is generated during diagnosis, treatment or immunisation in hospitals, nursing homes, pathological laboratories, blood banks, etc.

The total bio-medical waste generation in India is 484 TPD from about 1,70,000 healthcare facilities, out of which 447 TPD is treated. By the year 2022, India is likely to generate about 775 tonnes of medical waste per day.

Scientific disposal of bio-medical waste through segregation, collection and treatment in an environmentally sound manner minimises the adverse impact on health workers and on the environment. The quantum of waste generated in India is estimated to be 1-2 kg per bed per day in a hospital and 600 gm per day per bed in a clinic. 85% of the hospital waste is non-hazardous, 15% is infectious/hazardous. Mixing of the two results in contamination and makes the entire waste hazardous. Hence there is a necessity to segregate and treat. Improper disposal increases risk of infection; encourages recycling of prohibited disposables and disposed drugs and develops resistant micro-organisms.

Hospitals are required to put in place mechanisms for effective disposal either directly or through common bio-medical waste treatment and disposal facilities. Hospitals servicing 1000 patients or more per month are required to obtain authorisation and segregate biomedical waste into 10 categories, packed in five colour coded bags for disposal.  There are 198 common bio-medical waste treatment facilities in operation and 28 are under construction. 21,870 health care facilities have their own treatment facilities.

The Biomedical waste Rules (Handling & Management) Rules 2016 amply clarifies the disposal method for different waste categories. Among these, the wastes that are recommended to be incinerated are:

·        Human tissues, organs, body parts and foeti below the viability period (as per the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, amended from time to time)

·        Animal Anatomical Waste : Experimental animal carcasses, body parts, organs, tissues, including the waste generated from animals used in experiments or testing in veterinary hospitals or colleges or animal houses.                   

·        Soiled Waste: Items contaminated with blood, body fluids like dressings, plaster casts, cotton swabs and bags containing residual or discarded blood and blood components.      

·        Expired or Discarded Medicines: Pharmaceutical waste like antibiotics, cytotoxic drugs including all items contaminated with cytotoxic drugs along with glass or plastic ampoules, vials, etc.            

·        Chemical Waste: Chemicals used in production of biological and used or discarded disinfectants.                                                  

·        Discarded linen, mattresses, beddings contaminated with blood or body fluid.        

·        Microbiology, Biotechnology and other clinical laboratory waste: Blood bags, Laboratory cultures, stocks or specimens of micro-organisms, live or attenuated vaccines, human and animal cell cultures used in research, industrial laboratories, production of biological, residual toxins, dishes and devices used for cultures.                                                       

Haat has supplied hundreds of incinerators for disposing bio-medical waste within the country and abroad. From supplying simple basic incinerators to remote areas and countries in Africa, Haat offers the most advanced systems complying with any regulations in the world.

For more information, please see Haat Medical Waste Incinerator