RAWALPINDI: About 1,000 kg medical waste is generated from hospitals and laboratories in the garrison city on a daily basis.

However, there are only four incinerators to dispose it of - two each in the public and private sectors.There are complaints about recycling of dangerous and hazardous medical waste from laboratories.Punjab Environment Secretary Dr Sajid Mahmood Chauhan, Rawalpindi Deputy Director of Environment Farhat Abbas Kamuka, Assistant Director of Environment Mohammad Rafiq and others visited Holy Family Hospital and inspected the working of its waste disposal unit.

They were briefed on the working of the facility by the medical superintendent of the hospital.Dr Sajid Chauhan said the medical waste of hospitals caused many diseases. To deal with this, he said, it was necessary to dispose of hospital waste in a scientific way.

He said the implementation of Punjab Hospital Waste Management Rules 2014 should be ensured.“Lahore High Court has ordered strict action against those who do not dispose of hospital waste in light of this,” he said.He directed that FIRs should be registered against those selling medical waste to scrap yards.

He also directed to improve the working of the incinerator at the Holy Family Hospital.

According to sources, Holy Family Hospital’s incinerator is installed in containers. The incinerator works at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit, in which about 700 to 800 kgs of hospital waste is destroyed daily.

As many as 200 kg waste is generated at the hospital on a daily basis while Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital send 150 to 200 kg waste per day to the incinerator at the HFH.

The incinerator has the capacity to dispose of about 120 kg waste per hour. One incinerator is also installed at Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology. Its waste disposal capacity is 200 kg per hour. Two private plants work at Morgah while another is operating in Gujar Khan.In total, 300 to 400 kg waste is disposed of daily, which is mostly brought from private hospitals. Both the plants have a capacity of about 100 to 120 kg per hour.

Despite this, hazardous waste from government and private hospitals is secretly sold in junkyards. These include empty plastic bottles of glucose and medicines, used syringes, gloves and X-ray films.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2023