THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Looking to address the growing concern of improper disposal of unused and expired drugs, the state government is set to introduce a comprehensive system for scientific waste management of such medicines.
Ever since the launch of the door-to-door waste collection by Haritha Karma Sena, tonnes of unused and expired drugs are being collected from households. The lack of a proper system or infrastructure to dispose these of is posing a huge challenge for local bodies and service providers. Last year, the Clean Kerala Company Ltd (CKCL) collected around 7 tonnes of unused and expired drugs and other medical waste from households across the state.
Vice-chairperson of Haritha Kerala Mission T N Seema told TNIE that at present, unused and expired medical waste coming to them are being treated as rejects. “It is high time we had a system in place to ensure its scientific handling. The government’s approach is to provide scientific solutions for all kinds of waste.
The state lacks infrastructure to deal with drug waste, and if we don’t handle it properly, it could pollute our soil and water bodies. Hence, we have decided to introduce a comprehensive system in the immediate future,” Seema said.
The Haritha Kerala Mission recently convened a meeting with key stakeholders, including the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, Drug Control Department, All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA) and Suchitwa Mission, to devise a plan to collect and dispose of household waste.
“It was a positive meeting. We expressed our interest to associate with the government and have put forward three conditions. The association will provide the bins and a user fee will be given to medical shop owners providing the space to keep the bins.
The government should make this rule mandatory while issuing or renewing trade licence,” said AKCDA state president K N Mohan.
He said they already held a discussion with the KEIL (Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Ltd) in Ernakulam. “They have agreed to dispose of the waste in their facility. There are more than 25,000 medical shops, including nearly 19,000 retail outlets, in the state,” Mohan said.
Earlier, the AKCDA had launched PROUD (Programme on Removal of Unused Drugs) in Thiruvananthapuram on pilot basis. The project was later implemented in Kollam.
“We installed around 200 bins in Thiruvananthapuram city and around 40 tonnes of medical waste was collected and disposed of with the help of an agency based in Mangaluru,” Mohan said.
7 tonnes of drug waste collected last year
The Clean Kerala Company Ltd (CKCL) collected around 7 tonnes of unused and expired drugs and other medical waste from households across the state last year alone
Haritha Kerala Mission recently convened meeting to devise plan to collect and dispose of household drug waste