Kerala: Work on biomedical waste unit nearing completion

KOCHI: Work on the first common biomedical waste treatment facility (CBWTF) at Ambalamedu is nearing completion and is likely to be commissioned by February end.
The facility is being built by Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Ltd (KEIL) a special purpose vehicle under Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd.
Chief executive officer of KEIL N K Pillai said that most of the equipment needed for the unit have arrived.
“Erection and commissioning of the equipment is going on. We are experiencing some delay from vendors because of the blockade on the Delhi border due to farmers’ strike,” Pillai said.
KEIL is also readying a fleet of 10 medium and large vehicles for transporting the biomedical waste from hospitals and clinics from the regions allocated to it.
The commissioning of the facility, with a capacity to treat 16 tonnes of waste per day, would ease the load on IMAGE plant in Palakkad, the sole unit for the entire state.
The Covid-19 situation has resulted in an increase in load of biomedical waste and despite the capacity expansion, IMAGE is finding it hard to handle the quantum of waste generated across the state.
A key decision regarding sharing of the load needs to be taken by the state government for streamlining biomedical waste management in the state.
KEIL is hoping to cater to the needs of the neighbouring districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta apart from Ernakulam. The Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, mandates the occupier (healthcare facility) to ensure treatment and disposal of generated bio-medical waste through a CBWTF, located within 75km.
Setting up a third plant in south Kerala would be ideal in terms of logistics, said Pillai. Ernakulam, as of 2019, has the highest number of private hospitals in the state (1,790), followed by Thiruvananthapuram (1,500) and Malappuram (1,462).
Ernakulam also accounts for 36 government healthcare institutions, including 35 hospitals and one medical college.
Idukki has around 361 private hospitals, while Alappuzha has 694, Kottayam has 781 and Pathanamthitta has 515.