Managing Biomedical Waste in India

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) organized a webinar to present the findings of its report- Managing Biomedical Waste in India on 19th January, 2021. The webinar highlighted the current status of biomedical waste management in India, the big wins, possible lacunae, and set an agenda for the future.The public webinar was attended by waste management practitioners, officials from central and state urban departments and municipalities, urban and town planners, academicians, students, NGO representatives, etc. 

The following sessions were taken during the webinar: 

Inaugural Session:The welcome address was given by Atin Biswas, Director, SWM, CSE, and further moderated the programme. Addressing the meeting, Mr. Biswas highlighted the objective of the webinar and also set the context for the discussion to be carried out during the webinar. 

First session: In the first session, Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh- Deputy Programme Manager at CSE presented a few key findings of the report and highlighted the latest developments pertaining to biomedical waste management in the country. 

Second session: Second session was taken by Satish Sinha, Associate Director, Toxics Link, an NGO established in 1998, working on waste and chemical issues. He spoke about "Biomedical waste management in India post Covid19 Pandemic: Learning from the ground". He highlighted the dangers associated with Biomedical waste and emphasised on the need for effective waste management by highlighting the ground realities in the country post Covid19 pandemic. 

Third Session: Youthika, Scientist from CPCB, presented the Guidelines and steps taken by CPCB to manage biomedical waste in the country. She shared her experience of dealing with biomedical waste management aspects in CPCB, including details of nation-wide policies and technical guidelines, and overseeing their implementation by State Pollution Control Boards and other State Departments. 

Fourth session: Arvind, the operator of Hoswin incinerators handling biomedical waste, based in Alwar, Rajasthan talked about the Challenges in operating a CBWTF during the pandemic. 

Q&A session: The sessions were followed by a round of questions and answers which were diligently answered by all the panelists’, this session received a very heavy number of questions which were regarding biomedical waste management in health care facilities, primary health care centres, credibility of data and lack of awareness and compliance in rural and semi urban areas. CSE representatives and the panelists tried to answer most of the relevant questions.

Concluding session: The session was concluded on the note that we have come far from where we started, however, dire situations such as the covid19 pandemic calls for better implementation of the already laid out rules and guidelines for better management of biomedical waste in the country. It was also pointed out that there is a pressing need for raising awareness of common people and building capacities of professionals, health care workers and government officials dealing with biomedical waste in the country.

For further details

Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh
9768902012,
siddharth.singh@cseindia.org