Hyderabad: MAUD wants hospitals to stick to CPCB norms

Hyderabad: With corona positive patients undergoing home quarantine and the Covid waste not being properly segregated even by the hospitals in districts, the Municipal Administration Department has directed the municipal commissioners to ensure the guidelines prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) are followed in handling the Covid waste.

As per the CPCB, certain guidelines have to be followed by the hospitals for the disposal of waste. With most of the corona positive patients being advised home quarantine, the segregation has become a challenge for the municipal authorities in the towns. The director of municipal administration recently issued orders to the commissioners of municipalities and corporations to ensure the guidelines of CPCB are followed for the disposal of Covid waste.

As per the revised guidelines, the municipal administration department has asked the commissioners to ensure special arrangements in place for disposal of waste from hospitals, quarantine centres and Covid sample collection centres. The officials were asked to maintain different bins and trolleys for segregating the Covid wastes from other waste. The hospitals should write 'Covid waste' on the bins and make sure that these do not get mixed with other wastes. Keep the waste at a separate place till it is taken up for disposal, the guidelines read. The details of disposable material should be uploaded in the mobile application of CPCB. The used PPE kits, gloves, masks and other material should be kept in a paper bag for 72 hours and later be cut into pieces so that they are not used again, it directed. The dedicated staff should only collect waste from the houses and not mix the garbage with Covid waste.

As per the official records, the Covid waste was increasing in the State with the rise in the number of positive cases. The average waste generated during the month of May was around 650 kgs and it increased close to three tones in July. The DMA said that the urban local bodies are responsible for ensuring safe collection and disposal of biomedical waste. The ULBs should create a separate team of workers for doorstep waste collection, ensure only designated staff collects biomedical waste, should designate a nodal person who would be responsible for waste management for a specific quarantine centre.