How are we managing our medical waste? That’s the question that led me to write this post today. I have been aware and have written extensively about illegal disposal of medical waste from hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes for almost a decade, along with reporting on collusion between hospitals, the government and a handful of companies that operate in this sphere. Though little attention has been paid to this aspect of the waste management sector, today it becomes imperative that we start demanding transparency and traceability metrics along with strictly implementing the BMW rules 2016 (All Other Rules Also).
The Delhi Pollution Control Board does not have updated data on healthcare facilities (HCF) it has to regulate, nor the total amount of waste generated by them. The Annual Report of DPCC, 2017 states that there are 5394 HCF in Delhi, generating 24,667.05 kilograms of waste per day however there are no reports available after 2017. Our experience on the ground suggests that that the figures are grossly under reported. According to a RTI and subsequent report written by Down To Earth & Toxic links, only 959 facilities out 5394 have applied for permission to operate out of which only 872 have been provided permission. This leaves 4522 HCF operating without any monitoring from DPCC.
As the volume of bio-medical waste is set to increase dramatically not only from HCF, but also from homes we in India are grossly unprepared to handle these increased volumes. While writing this article, I decided to do a check on the number of calls for bio-medical waste that we got in the last six months. The number surprised me, over 400 calls from small clinics and HCF’s. When the system has been broken for decades and all of sudden is burdened with additional quantum of waste being generated from existing and new sources (households) things start to go from bad too worse quickly. As there is little transparency and traceability in monitoring & measurement of bio-medical waste (any waste as a matter of fact), my guess is that the current crisis will increase the amount of bio-medical waste including PPE equipment being dumped in our landfill & reaching the unorganised sector.
India is a country that has strong capabilities in terms of data mining & collection. This has never been more evident than in todays day an age, where central and state agencies have managed to track and trace corona virus suspects with lethal efficiency. So surely, we have the capabilities to monitor and measure waste; both in terms of quantum and characteristics. The question is why are we not giving priority to this critical sector that has a massive health and economic impact on our country? Is it because maintaining status quo keeps the machinery well greased?
The Government should be utilising this time to plan and put in practise established policies, (and also start formulating new policies that effectively tackle the challenge at hand) build infrastructure and provide industry status to this critical sector. A complete relook at who advises the government on these critical issues also needs immediate attention. It is time to do away with crony-consultants advising the government as they have little understanding of ground realities, are unwilling to speak the truth, and have helped foster policies that have essentially monopolised the sector, killed competition, and promoted technologies that are ill-suited for the our country.
Strike when the iron is hot and I believe it does not get hotter than this! Will the government and it’s advisors finally realise the importance of the waste management sector, not just from a social marketing perspective, but for the importance it holds to public health and the economy? Or will the garlanding and clapping for waste collectors be just another social media trend that will be forgotten when this crisis comes to an end, only to be remembered again when we find ourselves in the middle of another health related crisis?