Mixed with garbage, dumped or resold, recycled waste risks spreading deadly diseases
KARACHI:
The negligence of authorities and hospital administration has led to improper disposal of medical waste in the city. Much of it is mixed with regular garbage, dumped in landfills, beaches and other places, 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 Environment 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 urging them to dispose of waste in accordance with international standards, but virtually no action is taken against those who violate these standards.
An official from the Sindh Health Department, speaking anonymously, admitted that SEPA has largely failed to enforce its regulations, allowing private contractors to collect medical waste from hospitals and resell it on the market. As thousands of healthcare facilities in the city produce large volumes of waste daily, much of it is not disposed of properly.
The KMC operates the main incineration facilities and some university hospitals have their own plants. However, many district hospitals lack incinerators, leading to reduced 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 hospitals and private companies have incinerators, their capacity is limited and insufficient for the city’s needs. Meanwhile, KMC’s two incinerator plants are about 28 years old and past their useful lives, although one of them has recently been upgraded. Hospitals are not required to use KMC facilities and can do so voluntarily for a nominal fee.
A KMC official, also speaking anonymously, reported that the two incinerators were installed near the Mewa Shah cemetery in 1998. One was upgraded on March 4, while the other remains non-functional. Previously, its capacity had been reduced to 400-600 kilograms per hour, although the original capacity was one ton per hour. After modernization, the restored plant is once again capable of burning one ton of waste per hour.
“In 2022, 180 hospitals were registered with the KMC, but now the number has decreased to 125. The 13 public hospitals run by the KMC dispose of their medical waste in the KMC incinerator plants. Some government hospitals have installed their own incinerators, while others depend on private contractors, whose monitoring is the responsibility of SEPA,” the official explained.
KMC Municipal Services Director Rashid Baig said one incinerator has been upgraded and the second one 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 the cooperation of SEPA, implementation will begin soon,” Baig said.
Regional planner Dr. Syed Nawaz-ul-Huda shared that he participated in a beach cleanup drive a few years ago. “During the drive, used syringes, blood bags and other medical waste were found mixed with household garbage at several places. This indicates the absence of an organized system for medical waste disposal,” Dr Nawaz said, emphasizing that to ensure scientific disposal of medical waste, powers defined by existing laws should be fully delegated to the KMC and more incinerator plants should be set up across the city.
The Express PAkGazette tried several times to contact SEPA Director Imran Sabir for comment but he did not respond.
