The other side of Covid: 600 kg of biomedical waste nobody should touch ever again

Hyderabad: All the masks, PPEs, gloves discarded after use at the two Covid-19 designated hospitals in Hyderabad, Gandhi Hospital and Fever Hospital, are amounting to as much as 600 kg of biomedical waste (BMW) everyday.

The BMW generated each day also includes other wastes generated in the process of treating the coronavirus victims at the two hospitals.

“We are authorised by the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) to collect and safely dispose of BMW. All the waste collected from the two hospitals is in yellow bins. This is the waste generated from patients undergoing treatment for Covid-19. Once collected this material is incinerated at high temperature. We have a capacity of incinerating 250 kg per hour,” T.K. Sridhar of Medicare Environmental Management Private Limited, told Deccan Chronicle.

He added that there are four categories of BMW: yellow, red, blue and white. While the yellow category holds waste from the patients, the red category holds plastic waste, like syringes, bottles and more.

The bottles and syringes are sterilised at high temperature in an autoclave. Post-sterilisation, they are shredded, rendering them unfit for re-use.

“We add chemicals to this waste and then incinerate it. The white category holds most of the metallic objects like needles, PVC cans and blades,” he adds.

While the waste from the hospitals is sterilised before disposal, even those collecting waste from the isolation centres are getting anywhere near 20 kg of waste per day.

“This waste comprises masks, gloves, PPEs and other items that cannot be used again. We are also getting some waste from the isolation ward at Chest Hospital. Apart from that, we get BMW from the Nature Cure Hospital, Dharam Karan Hospital in Ramanthapur and Nizamia Hospital in the Old City,” said S. Shiva Ram, representative of GJ Multiclave (India) Private Limited.

Earlier, hospitals used to generate close to one tonne of BMW, said a representative of Maridi bio industries private limited.

“We had 700 clients, but they have come down to 300 since the government has allowed bedded hospitals to work,” said Anjaneyulu, of Maridi Bio Industries Private Limited.