Mixed with waste, dumped or resold, recycled waste risks spreading deadly diseases
KARACHI:
Negligence on the part of authorities and hospital administrations has led to improper disposal of medical waste in the city. Much of it is mixed with general waste, dumped in landfills, 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 been going on 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 merely sends letters to hospital administrations instructing 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 Department official, speaking anonymously, admitted that SEPA has largely failed to enforce its rules, allowing private contractors to collect medical waste from hospitals and resell it in the market. With thousands of healthcare facilities in the city producing large amounts of waste daily, much of it is not disposed of properly.
Larger incineration plants are operated by KMC, and individual teaching hospitals have their own plants. However, many district-level hospitals lack incinerators, leading to lower-level staff selling waste to unregistered or untrained contractors. These contractors often recycle items such as syringes and dump the remaining hazardous waste into drains 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 incinerators are about 28 years old and have exceeded their lifespan, although one has recently been upgraded. Hospitals are not required to use KMC facilities and can do so voluntarily for a nominal fee.
An officer of the KMC, who also spoke anonymously, informed that the two incinerators were installed near 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 kg per hour, although the original capacity was one ton per hour. After the upgrade, the restored plant is now again able to burn one ton of waste per hour.
“In 2022, 180 hospitals were registered with KMC, but now the number has dropped to 125. All 13 KMC-run public hospitals dispose of their medical waste at KMC’s incinerators. Some government hospitals have installed their own incinerators, while others rely on private contractors whose monitoring responsibilities fall under SEPA.”
Director of Municipal Services at KMC, Rashid Baig, claimed that one incinerator has been upgraded and the other will be upgraded soon. “At least six more plants are needed to handle medical waste from all hospitals and clinics in the city. Planning is underway under the leadership of Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and with SEPA’s cooperation, implementation will begin soon,” Baig said.
Regional planner Dr. Syed Nawaz-ul-Huda shared 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 for disposal of medical waste,” noted Dr. Nawaz who emphasized that to ensure scientific disposal of medical waste, the powers defined under existing laws should be fully delegated to the KMC facility and more in the city should be installed for the KMC facility.
The Express Pakinomist tried several times to contact SEPA Director Imran Sabir for his comments, but he did not respond.
