Coronavirus | Mounting biomedical waste poses a challenge in Mumbai, Pune
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The rising variety of COVID-19 sufferers in Maharashtra has offered one other challenge to civic our bodies in main cities on coping with disposal of biomedical waste, which has additionally elevated considerably.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has seen a spike in the variety of instances with round 6,84,048 constructive sufferers since 2020. The monetary capital produces round 22 to 23 MT biomedical waste on daily basis.
“We have given the responsibility to SMS Envoclean as biomedical waste treatment facilitator and operator. The company has its established plant near Deonar dumping ground,” stated an official related to the BMC’s strong waste division. The firm has been working with the civic physique since 2009.
Logistics and human assets
The Deonar plant has a capability to deal with 24 to 25 MT biomedical waste per day. The plant is monitored by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). “The company is responsible for collecting biomedical waste from all medical institutions within the jurisdiction of the BMC. Logistics and human resources required for the same is provided by Envoclean. The BMC has no role to play except for monitoring,” the officer stated.
To deal with this rising sanitation and hygiene drawback, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has launched a listing of ordinary working procedures (SOPs) on segregation and disposal of this waste. It has contracted a personal company, Passco Environmental Solutions, to facilitate the disposal.
As per the norms issued by the civic physique, the PMC-run in addition to personal hospitals are mandated to spray 1% sodium hypochlorite on the rubbish and hand it over in a yellow bag to the waste collectors.
Authorities stated greater than 300 kg of waste every day is being picked up, which incorporates disposable plates, water bottles and different articles utilized by sufferers at houses, COVID care centres and different hospitals.
The waste is collected by way of seven automobiles with GPRS monitoring techniques from 400 assortment factors throughout Pune.
Colour-coded baggage
The waste is collected in three colour-coded baggage — yellow (for incineration), purple (shredding or recycling or landfill) and white (sharp and glass materials) — which are chemically handled and despatched to the hazardous remedy plant at Ranjangaon on the outskirts of Pune.
Patients in dwelling isolation have been requested to separate moist and dry rubbish and spray it with sodium hypochlorite earlier than handing it over to the waste-collector, as per the SOPs.
Many housing societies in Pune have tied up with SWaCH — a cooperative of self-employed waste collectors.
The metropolis has 26,000-odd sufferers whereas Pimpri-Chinchwad has practically 20,000 Covid-19 instances.
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), too, has made necessary using yellow-coloured baggage for assortment of all waste generated by COVID-19 sufferers.
There can be an association for assortment of tissues and face masks from quarantined houses, with directions that such waste is to not be combined with the final waste.
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