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

HEALTHCARE WASTE
Currently, Bangladesh has over 640 public and
280 private sector healthcare establishments.
Roughly, 20% of total medical waste generated
in Dhaka is categorized as infectious/
hazardous. The average generation is 0.55-1.10
kg/bed/day, with about 0.17 kg/bed/day of
hazardous waste. World Bank estimates show
that about 36,000 tons of healthcare waste is
generated every year in Bangladesh. Hospital
wastes are often mixed with urban solid waste.
According to a study conducted by Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology in
1999, the average rate of medical waste
generations was 1.0 kg/bed/day. An estimated
200 tons of medical waste is generated in Dhaka
every day. Most of which is dumped in
municipal bins. Only few hospitals have on-site
management systems such as burning, burial,
Organic Waste Management in Bangladesh:
Decentralized Composting
Bangladesh, with an average waste collection
efficiency of 55% and the domination of
organic content in the waste stream (>70%),
have seriously crippled the local authorities
in managing the solid waste. A researchbased
organization, Waste Concern, initiated
a pilot project on community based resource
recovery in Dhaka city in 1995. With further
support from the government and
international organizations, they further
initiated community based decentralized
composting projects in Dhaka. Activities
under the project included door-to-door
waste collection, composting of the collected
waste in a decentralized manner (employing
Barrel Type Composting, Aerator Type
Composting and Box Type Composting) and
marketing of compost and recyclable
materials. Till date, these concepts have
been replicated in 20 cities and towns in
Bangladesh. Waste Concern has initiated a
large-scale 700 tons/day composting plant in
Dhaka city producing 50,000 tons of organic
fertilizer every year. The organization looks
forward with this project to reduce about
one million tons of greenhouse gases over an
eight year period under the Clean
Development Mechanism.
autoclave and/or waste segregation. Some
medical colleges and tertiary government
hospitals have incinerators on site. Even though
no alternative method is prescribed, the
Department of Environment does not permit the
operation of incinerators due to environmental
concerns. Some private institutions and NGOs
operate their own incinerators for infectious
waste. A few hospitals store waste in their net
houses or closed bins before sending to the city
corporation bins. Generally, solid wastes, saline
bags, and non-sharp objects are disposed in
improper ways. An overwhelming number of
the waste pickers in Bangladesh sort these waste
and sell all that can be recycled. The waste
pickers adopt no protective clothing, exposing
themselves to injury and sickness. Moreover,
the municipal dust bins of Dhaka, where the
hospitals place their waste are left exposed to
the environment for days before collection.
Another study reveals that apart from
separating syringes/needles, most of the
hospitals do not practice waste segregation
before disposal.
Scavenging Medical waste
Image source: 3R South Asia Expert
Workshop, Nepal 2006
Chapter 3: Country Analysis
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