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

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3R Gap Analysis and Findings
Findings
The analysis of the current scenario of
healthcare waste management in Bangladesh
reveals the following:
• No specific agency has been identified as
responsible for healthcare waste
management in the country
• Lack of cooperation within and among
various agencies is a pertinent problem
• In some areas, awareness initiatives have
been undertaken by some NGOs. However,
lack of awareness of potential risks exist
• Hospital authorities tend to overlook health
issues as it involves huge budgets
• Lack of in-house management, such as the
central recycling of selected items ike saline
bags and containers inside some hospitals
• Unauthorized healthcare waste segregation,
recycling and reuse is often conducted in
and outside hospitals by informal sectors
There is no separate policy or handling rules
for solid waste management, there is no
specific legislation pertaining directly to the
handling, transportation or disposal of
healthcare waste in the Bangladesh
Environmental. Protection Act (1995).
E-WASTE
Like other developing Asian countries,
Bangladesh also imports tons of e-waste every
year. The recent ban on importing e-waste to
China has diverted much of it to Bangladesh
and other neighboring countries due to cheap
labor and recycling businesses. This e-waste
recycling or computer recycling has been
lucrative, with much money being made. It
involves employing people to strip down the
computers and extract parts that can be used
again in machines to be sold on the high street.
The rest is then burned or dumped, both of
which are potentially hazardous to the
environment. The process of extraction uses all
kinds of chemicals, like acids which are
dumped into the soil and go into the
groundwater. Currently, there is not much data
available on e-waste management in
Bangladesh but it does not reflect the absence
of any backyard smelting of circuit boards and
manual dismantling of computer parts.
Findings
E-waste recyclers
Source: 3R South Asia Expert Workshop,
Nepal 2006
Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) and plastic
waste recycling has picked up its pace (mostly
informal sectors) due to the change in the waste
streams and increase in the vehicle use. These
two areas of recycling employ thousands of
informal sectors despite to their health risks and
environmental pollution. For instance, every
month, around 600 tons of lead is recycled, and
the informal sector rebuilds over 100,000 pieces
of plate separators besides repairing large
numbers of other batteries. In 2005, over 85% of
the produced batteries were recycled.
Three types of technology are currently in use:
1. Rotary Furnace (recovery rate of 65%)
2. Mondir Chulli (recovery rate of 60%)
3. Pan or Hole process (recovery rate of 55-60%)
The current recovery rate indicates the potential
to upgrade the existing smelting technology to
recover more lead from the ULAB compared to
developed countries where the recovery rate is
over 70% (Waste Concern, 2006).
GAPS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF 3R
Worldwide, experiences indicate that applying
3R is a lucrative way of tackling waste
management issues. The first step in this
exercise is an assessment of the technology
options available for implementing 3R-based
solutions. Proactive policies and relevant
legislations emphasizing 3R-based solutions are
vital to achieve a higher success rate. While
recycling is considered as technological ability,
reduce and reuse is often considered