Mixed with garbage, thrown away or resold, recycled waste risks spreading deadly diseases
KARACHI:
Negligence by authorities and hospital administrations has led to improper disposal of medical waste in the city. Much of it is mixed with ordinary garbage, dumped in landfills, on beaches and elsewhere, or sold illegally. It is then recycled and reintroduced into the market, posing a serious risk of spreading deadly diseases.
Due to lack of monitoring by the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), this illegal practice has continued for years. After the 18th Amendment, SEPA introduced the Hospital Waste Management Act in 2014. However, its performance in this regard has been almost negligible. SEPA simply sends letters to hospital administrations asking them to dispose of waste in accordance with international standards, but virtually no action is taken against those who violate these rules.
A Sindh health ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that SEPA had largely failed to enforce its regulations, allowing private contractors to collect medical waste from hospitals and resell it in the market. While thousands of healthcare facilities in the city produce large volumes of waste daily, much of it is not disposed of properly.
The main incineration facilities are run by KMC and a few teaching hospitals have their own plants. However, many district hospitals lack incinerators, leading limited staff to sell their waste to unregistered or untrained contractors. These contractors often recycle items like syringes and dump the remaining hazardous waste into sewers and waterways.
Although some private hospitals and companies have incinerators, their capacity is limited and insufficient for the city’s needs. Meanwhile, KMC’s two incineration plants are about 28 years old and past their service life, although one of them was recently upgraded. Hospitals are not obliged to use KMC facilities and can do so voluntarily for a nominal fee.
A KMC officer, also speaking anonymously, informed that the two incinerators were installed near the Mewa Shah graveyard in 1998. One was upgraded on March 4, while the other remains non-functional. Previously, their capacity had dropped to 400-600 kilograms per hour, while the initial capacity was one ton per hour. After the modernization, the restored plant is once again capable of burning one ton of waste per hour.
“In 2022, 180 hospitals were registered with KMC, but now this number has come down to 125. The 13 government hospitals run by KMC dispose of their medical waste at KMC’s incineration plants. Some government hospitals have installed their own incinerators, while others rely on private contractors, the control of which is the responsibility of SEPA,” the official explained.
KMC director of municipal services Rashid Baig said one incinerator had been upgraded and the second one would be upgraded soon. “At least six more plants are needed to process medical waste from all hospitals and clinics in the city. Planning is underway under the leadership of Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and with the cooperation of SEPA, implementation will begin soon,” Baig said.
Regional planner Dr Syed Nawaz-ul-Huda said that a few years ago he participated in a beach cleaning campaign. “During the campaign, used syringes, blood bags and other medical waste were found mixed with household waste at several places. This indicates the absence of an organized system of disposal of medical waste,” noted Dr Nawaz, who stressed that to ensure scientific disposal of medical waste, the powers laid down in the existing laws should be fully delegated to the KMC and more incineration plants should be set up across the country. city.
The Express PK Press Club made several attempts to contact SEPA Director Imran Sabir for comments, but he did not respond.
