The two massive size hospital waste incinerators at the disposal of the City District Government of Karachi (CDGK) are operating at a mere 15 percent of total capacity owing to lack of co-operation of the local hospitals, pathological laboratories, blood banks, and those related institutions generating hazardous waste on daily basis across the city.
Khalid Javed, a senior official of the CDGK associated with its Solid Waste Management, Works and Services Department addressing a seminar jointly organised by the Environment Protection Agency, Sindh, UNDP-sponsored Pollution Control Programme and Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency here recently said that incinerators operational for last two years are being used by 127 hospitals and health care units against a total number of around 500 such facilities.
It was mentioned that the CDGK with a proper system to incinerate hospital waste with a capacity of two tonnes per hour is facing massive resistance on part of large majority of the private sector institutions under the plea that the charges were too high, which the CDGK official felt was not true as the two incinerators were being run on 'no profit and no loss' basis.
The city government is charging a minimum of Rs 2000 (Rs 1,330 per month) for small health care units with bed capacity of one to 10 beds and a maximum of Rs 20,000 (Rs 19,965 per month) with bed capacity of above 400 beds.
Khalid Javed said the charges sought from the health care units, the CDGK includes charges for transportation and incineration, adding that lack of necessary co-operation is also witnessed on part of hospitals which largely are unable to ensure proper segregation of varied categories for hospital waste causing great inconvenience to the collectors.
"Besides the two incinerators, we also have at our disposal some two fully covered trucks to carry hazardous hospital waste to the incineration site", he said, adding that at present, a contractor is responsible for the operation with collection facility available on additional charges.
It was also mentioned that some of the private as well as government hospitals have their own incinerators.
Dr Haseeb Alam, President, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA-Karachi) taking strong exception to the claim made by CDGK authorities maintained that the responsibility of safe disposal of hospital waste, hazardous or otherwise must be realised by the government without any unnecessary burden on health care units already made to pay considerably high taxes.
He said even if the hospitals and relevant health care units are made to pay the charges must be reduced, and the involvement of a middle party must be discontinued.
He also reminded that low cost incinerators are also available which many of the private hospitals would prefer to get installed and put into function at considerably reduced cost.
He, however, was reminded by Shahid Lutfi of Sindh Environmental Protection Agency that installation of incinerators is not enough but its proper and safe management to prevent discharge of toxic fumes, which are extremely hazardous for human life, has also to be ensured.
Earlier, Irfan Saeed Alrai, NEAP-SP, UNDP/Ministry of Environment explicitly discussed international practice on Hospital Waste Management.
Shahid Lutfi discussed legislation for Hospital Waste Management, Dr Sulman Otho talked about Hospital Waste Management and Resulting Health Implications, and Dr Arshad Altaf made his presentation on Sharps Waste Management and Resulting Health Implications.