Healthcare Waste Report - Environment Health

Box below presents information on healthcare waste treatment, including the cost of treatment in
the Delhi, the capital of India.
Scenario of Biomedical Waste in Delhi, India
Healthcare waste generation in Delhi, the capital of India, is approximately 22.5 tons/day.
Government hospitals and major private hospitals have their own arrangement for treatment of
healthcare waste, often referred as biomedical waste in India.
Biomedical waste generated in 30 Delhi government hospitals vary from, for example, 0.78 kg/
bed/day at Shushruta Trauma Centre to 0.30 kg/bed/day at Guru Nanak Eye Centre and some
other hospitals even much lesser indicating an overall average of 0.26 kg/bed/day. Similarly,
biomedical waste generated in 31 hospitals other than Delhi government vary from, for instance,
0.58 kg/bed/day at the Infectious Disease Hospital to 0.30kg/bed/day at Venu Eye Institute and
Research Centre and much lesser in other hospitals indicating an overall average of 0.20 kg/
bed/day.
In Delhi, biomedical waste management services are offered by Biocare Technological Services
and Synergy Waste Management Company in addition to onsite treatment facilities owned by
the hospitals. Some smaller clinics/laboratories do not utilize the services of the operators and
do not posses proper for authorization. At present in Delhi 18 incinerators, 18 autoclaves and 3
microwaves are in operation. Besides this, Synergy Waste Management Private Limited
established a treatment facility at Okhla in November 2006.
Under the 10th Five Year Plan, the Delhi Government has established a Biomedical Waste
Management Cell to monitor biomedical waste management in Delhi. All hospitals under the
Delhi National Capital Territory Government are to have separate budget for Biomedical Waste
Management.
The cost of biomedical waste treatment varies from Rs. 770/bed/year (USD 17) in Attar Sain
Jain hospital to Rs. 14,000/bed/year (USD 310) in RB Seth Jessa Ram Hospital. The average
cost works to about Rs.5,300/bed/year (USD 117). The average expenditure for institutions
having onsite treatment facility works to about Rs. 7230/bed/year (USD 160) whereas the
institutions using centralized facility are spending only Rs. 2100/bed/year (USD 46), less than
30% of the cost of onsite treatment. However, the level of treatment and the technology utilized
make a difference still implying centralized treatment could be cheaper.
In view of the difficulties faced by private hospitals, nursing homes and clinics, that cannot make
their own arrangements due to high cost involved in treatment facilities, there is a need for
centralized system for treatment. In order to facilitate the proper treatment of the biomedical
waste generated from smaller nursing homes, clinics, blood banks and diagnostic laboratories the
government is taking initiatives to establish centralized waste treatment facilities.
(Source: BWMC, 2006)
113 HEALTHCARE WASTE IN ASIA: INTUITIONS & INSIGHTS