Few lessons have been learnt from our experience with the pandemic. The continued dangerous and unscientific disposal of biomedical waste is a case in point. At a time when hospital-acquired infections are at an all-time high and extremely high standards of hygiene and sanitation are required to keep Covid-19 at bay, reckless disposal of medical waste by contractors across the country is a reason for alarm.
The failure of authorities to deploy an efficient strategy to combat this menace is also a matter of concern. Union Minister Babul Supriyo recently informed Lok Sabha that in the last two years, 126 public complaints were received about illegal medical waste disposal from across the country. While the minister said that action was taken in many of these cases, experts point out that reporting of illegal disposal itself is poor. The situation has just become worse with the onset of the pandemic.
Since April, India has been manufacturing an average of 4.5 lakh PPE suits every day, the Centre said. While these suits have helped contain the spread of the pandemic in a big way, they are now posing an immense risk to the ecosystem. Made primarily out of single-use plastic, the necessity for these suits has reversed all the ground gained by banning such plastic products in parts of the country.
While most hospitals and authorities have taken extreme caution to ensure that Covid-related medical waste is scientifically disposed, the flip side is that the disposal of non-Covid medical waste now gets ignored. The country does not have adequate facilities to treat medical waste and the burden has increased dramatically due to the pandemic.
In short, Covid-19 has exacerbated plastic pollution across the globe and the lack of adequate infrastructure to deal with it is resulting in a medical waste-induced public health crisis in India. It is high time that policymakers focus on the fag end of the Covid chain—the waste management requirements. New infrastructure, trained manpower and sustainable solutions are needed to avoid a crisis that could be bigger than the pandemic.