Visakhapatnam: Safe disposal of biomedical waste vital to curb Covid-19

Visakhapatnam: In addition to doctors, medical staff, police and sanitation workers fighting Covid-19, those who collect and dispose biomedical waste from hospitals too contribute their effort as frontline warriors behind the screen.

Workers disposing biomedical waste play a crucial role in the concerted fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In Visakhapatnam, the waste collected from various 33 Covid-19 centres, including sample collection lab at KGH, isolation wards and hospitals dedicated for the treatment, is being disposed by Vasishta Environ Care and Maridi Eco Industries Private Limited.

Special care is being taken while collecting biomedical waste, labelling, transferring and disposing them following safety standards.

The biomedical waste collected from Covid-19 centres is placed in double-layered covers and disinfected before packing them in another container and shifting them to the disposal spot.

Containers are also kept in hospitals serving Covid-19 patients. Following safety measures, a dedicated staff will work to pick up and transport the biomedical waste from the hospitals.

The collected stuff will be shifted to Biomedical Waste Treatment Plant, Atchutapuram. "Here, the collected material will be disposed in high temperature not less than 800 degree Centigrade.

About 300 to 400 kgs of biomedical waste are being gathered a day from various collection points. The material collected includes used cotton, masks, coats, gloves, PPEs, face-shields and other material," says Buddharaju Sivaji, director of Maridi Eco Industries Private Limited and Vasishta Environ Care.

As soon as the waste gets sanitised at the collection point, Sivaji says the material then becomes safe to shift to disposal point.

"More focus is laid on disinfecting the material thereby reducing the risk of spreading the virus. The vehicle used to transport the bio-medical waste is also being sanitised at regular intervals," he adds.

District Medical and Health Officer S Tirupathi Rao says the safety protocols are being followed in disposing off the biomedical waste at the Covid-19 centres.