The Ecological Cost Of COVID-19: Over 2 Lakh Kg Biomedical Waste Generated Daily In May Alone

One of the biggest, yet unattended consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the rapid increase in the amount of biomedical waste being generated.

From face masks that we throw away to the PPE kits used by healthcare workers and samples collected for testing, there has been a huge increase in the amount of biomedical waste in the country.

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What the report says

According to a new report by the Centre for Science and Environment, over two lakh kilograms of biomedical waste was generated each day last month by hospitals alone in India.

This include cultures, stocks of infectious agents, associated biologicals, human blood and blood products, contaminated sharps, amputated body parts and isolation waste.

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Although it is a small proportion of the total waste generated (around 1 per cent), it needs special handling due to its highly toxic contents that can pose a severe threat to human health.

The State of India's Environment 2021' said 2,03,000 kg of COVID-19 biomedical waste was produced daily in May this year and it was roughly 33 per cent of India's non-COVID biomedical waste.

It said the COVID-19 biomedical waste generated per day in May was 46 per cent more than in April when 1.39 lakh kg of such waste was produced daily.

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In March, the daily figure was 75,000 kg, according to the report.

April and May witnessed a deadly second wave of coronavirus cases that swept through the country stretching the healthcare infrastructure to its limits.

5 states contributed to 50% of waste in May

According to the findings, Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka contributed 50 per cent of COVID-19 biomedical waste generated in May.

What the rules say

Under the existing waste disposal rules, biomedical waste is segregated into four categories ¡ª Yellow (highly infectious waste such as human, animal, anatomical, soiled), Red (contaminated recyclable waste generated from disposable items like tubing, bottles tubes, syringes), White (waste sharps, including needles, syringes with fixed needles), and Blue (broken or discarded and contaminated glassware, including medicine vials).

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Considered potentially infectious, all Covid waste, irrespective of content, is tagged Yellow and incinerated.

The report also said that India still disposes of 12 per cent of its hospital waste without any treatment with Bihar and Karnataka faring the worst.

"In 2019, India treated 88 per cent of its biomedical waste, down from 92.8 per cent in 2017," the report authored by Kiran Pandey and Rajit Sengupta, said.

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While this is the waste generated by hospitals there is also an increase in the amount of such waste from homes.

¡°A lot of biomedical waste like masks and PPE kits are also being generated in general homes now. So that is becoming a big problem. These things are finding their way across ecosystems," Ravi Agarwal, founder director of the environmental NGO Toxics Link, told PTI.