Delhi’s daily biomedical waste 5 times of what it can process

NEW DELHI: The quantum of biomedical waste generated in the city increased by 15 times in June compared with the preceding month when just 25 tonnes was being produced daily. Moreover, while 372 tonnes of biomedical waste was generated in June every day, in July it was 349 tonnes, stated a report submitted by Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) to the Supreme Court.

Delhi’s two common biomedical waste treatment facilities can collectively handle only 74 tonnes of such refuse each day. This means that the waste being generated currently is over five times the treatment capacity of the plants.

The report, which collected data from both the state and central pollution control boards, mentioned that in Haryana, UP, Rajasthan and Delhi, the quantum of biomedical waste collectively increased from 94 tonnes per day in May to 761 tonnes in July (till July 24). However, the huge increase in June was attributed to waste from households and quarantine centres not being segregated and mixed with general garbage.

“This puts pressure on the biomedical waste disposal facilities. Now, there is an emphasis on the need to segregate biomedical waste from general waste, even in households where there are Covid-19 patients. According to the guidelines, only infected waste (PPE suits, gloves, masks, swabs) should be put in the yellow bag meant for incineration, while food and other garbage should be collected as general waste,” Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said in the report, adding that treatment facilities were adequate in the region if waste was segregated properly.

In addition to CPCB and the state pollution control boards, EPCA also collected information from the municipal corporations in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. The civic bodies explained that a system had been set up to collect waste from households and quarantine centres to send to the treatment facilities. However, south and north Delhi municipal corporations said they were sending the refuse to waste-to-energy (WTE) plants for incineration.

EPCA suggested that this be rectified immediately, stating WTE plants were not equipped to deal with biomedical waste. “The south and north municipal corporations may be directed not to send biomedical waste to WTE plants. This is because WTEs are not designed to incinerate biomedical waste, which needs a double-incineration chamber and protocols for storage and emission control,” said the report.

The committee also asked for biomedical waste to be tracked and suggested that all state pollution control boards and corporations use the COVID19BWM app for this purpose. “This may be made mandatory so that CPCB can track all biomedical waste and ensure that it is being sent for treatment,” said EPCA. It added that barcoding was also important for such waste. “It should not be left to the operators of the treatment facilities, as this will not allow for good management,” the report added.