Colour-coded, labelled bins kept for bio-medical waste

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 5

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has issued special guidelines for handling, treatment and disposal of waste generated from treatment of positive Covid cases at health facilities and suspects under home quarantine.

As per the HSPCB, healthcare facilities with isolation wards for Covid confirmed or suspected cases have to keep separate colour-coded bins and use double-layered bags for collection of waste.

The dedicated collection bins must be labelled Covid 19 and kept separately. The waste has to be lifted directly from the ward to common bio-medical waste treatment facilities (CBWTF) collection vans. In addition, the Board has to be informed about the starting of new sample collection centres and laboratories.

Bio-medical waste generated from quarantine health facilities must be collected in yellow bags and bins and CBWTF has to be informed for its collection and disposal. For those in home quarantine, bio-medical waste has to be collected in yellow bags and handed over to authorised waste collectors engaged by local bodies.

The local bodies then further would engage CBWTF to pick-up such waste either directly from such quarantined homes or from identified collection points. However, the rest of waste from homes of quarantined people has to be disposed of in routine manner.

“There are 10 agencies which collect bio-medical waste in Haryana. No health facility can keep bio-medical waste for more than 48 hours. All healthcare facilities, including testing laboratories and CBWTFs, have to be keep record of waste generated from Covid,” said HSPCB member-secretary S Narayanan.

Indian Medical Association, Haryana, former president welcomed the step. “It is important for health facilities to adhere to guidelines on bio-medical waste to stop spread of infection,” he said.

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