The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) is in the dark about the exact quantity of bio-medical waste being generated in the city.
Mysore has 1,429 hospitals and clinics registered under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, with over 450 of them situated in the City Corporation limits. However, the authorities have no idea about the quantity of biological and medical waste generated and disposed of daily.
The segregation of bio-medical waste into infectious and non-infectious, vital for disposal, is not strictly done at source. A single private firm, ‘Shree Consultants’, handles disposal of bio-medical waste.
C Srikanth, founder of the firm, said around 450 kg of incinerable waste and an average of 50-150 kg plastic waste is received by his unit on a daily basis.
The plastic waste comprising disposed syringes, tubes, intra-venous sets, gloves, plastic bottles, catheters, vials, drains and urine bags, received by the consultant is very less.
Though KSPCB officials admit that more plastic waste is generated by hospitals than what is received by Shree Consultants, they are clueless about where the waste is being disposed of.
“We do not get the expected quantity of infected waste for incineration. It is high time the KSPCB ensured the disposal of hazardous medical waste,” said Srikanth.
With diabetics and terminally ill patients, confined to bed, being offered medical care by paramedical staff at their homes, used syringes and other infected waste material are disposed of along with municipal waste.
KSPCB Environmental Officer Dr P Niranjan admitted that bio-medical waste is getting mixed with Corporation garbage and said notices have been issued to a couple of hospitals in this regard.
He said strict instructions have been given to all hospitals to weigh the bio-medical waste generated and send a report to the KSPCB.
The bio-medical waste incineration plant at Varuna has the capacity to incinerate 2,400 kg of hazardous waste generated by 20,000 beds. It is an ongoing process, informed Srikanth.