BMC urges people to segregate medical waste to reduce risk of infection

“We are asking citizens to segregate and give masks in a separate garbage bags to the waste collector. The bio medical waste is being taken to the civic body's processing facility at Deonar,” said Ashok Khaire, deputy municipal commissioner, solid waste management department.

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The Union Health Ministry has advised healthy members of the general public against wearing face masks and only to use mask if they are unwell or taking care of the patients. (File photo)

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed to citizens to not dump masks, gloves and other medical waste along with the household garbage. The BMC asked them to segregate the waste at the source and inform waste collectors about any medical waste in the garbage bags. Single-use masks are being dumped by people with their household garbage and being picked up by waste pickers unknowingly, increasing the risk of infection.

“We are asking citizens to segregate and give masks in a separate garbage bags to the waste collector. The bio medical waste is being taken to the civic body’s processing facility at Deonar,” said Ashok Khaire, deputy municipal commissioner, solid waste management department. The Union Health Ministry has advised healthy members of the general public against wearing face masks and only to use mask if they are unwell or taking care of the patients. However, many citizens are seen wearing masks and disposing it with the household waste.

As per an advisory issued by the Directorate General of Health Services of Ministry of Health earlier this month, used masks, especially those used by “patients/care-givers/close contacts” under home-care, are to be considered “potentially infected” and should be disinfected with ordinary bleach solution (five per cent) or sodium hypochlorite solution (1 per cent) and then disposed of either by burning or through deep burial. As per the guidelines, a single-use mask shouldn’t be used for more than 6 hours or on more than one occasion which, if done, may increase chances of infection.

In the city, there are over 1,000 travellers who are being kept under home-quarantine. However, there’s no mechanism for collection and disposal of masks and medical waste generated by them. According to the guideline by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for handling bio medical waste, “In case of home-care from suspected patients, biomedical waste should be collected separately in yellow bags and handed over to authorised waste collectors engaged by local bodies. ULBs (Urban Local Bodies) should engage Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTFs) to pick-up such waste either directly from quarantined houses or identified collection points.”

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