A Gap Analysis in Selected Asian Countries, 3R Knowledge Hub ...

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3R Gap Analysis and Findings
HEALTHCARE WASTE
The Thai institutions that deal with technical
matters of healthcare waste management
include the Pollution Control Department
(PCD), the Department of Health (DH) and the
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).
Each institution carries out its own functions
rather independently. However, because of
differences in the definition of healthcare waste
used by each institution, there is inconsistency
in the basic data pertaining to healthcare wastes,
particularly with respect to the types and
generation rate of wastes. Due to reasons cited
above, the waste generation rates issued by the
BMA, DH and PCD are 0.11, 0.43 and 0.65 kg/
bed/day respectively. A DH commissioned
study on the disposal of healthcare wastes by
incineration revealed that the average waste
generation rate was 0.23 kg/bed/day.
By far the most common treatment method of
healthcare waste in Thailand is incineration.
Presently, the BMA operates two incinerators of
10 tons/day capacity each for the disposal of
medical wastes in the Bangkok metropolis. The
Department of Public Hygiene (DPH) under the
Ministry of Public Health, overseeing the
disposal of wastes from hospitals under the
Ministry’s jurisdiction, has developed standard
incinerator designs of 25, 50, and 100-150 kg/hr
capacities. According to the Department of
Environmental Health, there are 750 medical
waste incinerators installed in the hospitals
under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public
Health all over country. Most of these
incinerators have deteriorated, prompting the
DPH to start importing incinerators to replace
the old ones.
Findings
The Department of Public Cleansing (DPC) is
responsible for planning and implementing the
work of public sanitation and disposal of SW.
Since 1988, DPC separates infectious waste from
municipal waste during the process of
collection, transportation and disposal. DPC has
facilities to collect infectious waste from
hospitals. Nevertheless, if small health services
are excluded as private clinics, the coverage is
higher at about 70 %.
The DPH has designed and disseminated the
information to almost all the private healthcare
establishments in the country for them to
construct, maintain and operate their own
incinerators. Reports indicate that most of these
incinerators have deteriorated over time and at
present, necessitate the importation from
foreign countries. However, in the present
economic conditions there are second thoughts
to this alternative. On the other hand, there is
rising advocacy on incineration technologies
without proper pollution control equipments. In
such a situation, it is essential that healthcare
waste reduction and management be done by
innovative practices and approaches such as 3R.
E-WASTE
In Thailand, production, import, and
consumption of electrical and electronic
products are increasing significantly, thus
creating new challenges and environmental
issues. Thailand government started to focus on
e-waste in 2004 when Pollution Control
Department (PCD) established the first research
survey, the field survey on discharging of Waste
Electric and Electronic Equipments (WEEE) by
JETRO in 2004. In Thailand, electrical and
electronic industries play a very important role
in economy. Data from the Department of
Business Economics, Ministry of Commerce
shows that the export of electronic products has
been the highest among all industries. The main
export products include computers, parts, and
printed circuit board.
Medical waste
collection and
incineration BMA
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