Kerala State Pollution Control Board has asked the Indian Medical Association Goes Eco Friendly (IMAGE) to hand over 10 to 12 tonnes of non-COVID biomedical waste disposed of at its facility in Palakkad to the new plant of the Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited (KEIL) in Ambalamedu in Kochi in view of the chances of a spike in generation of biomedical waste in the State amidst the pandemic crisis.
The board chairman A. B Pradeepkumar issued a letter to the Secretary of IMAGE under the State chapter of the Indian Medical Association on Wednesday stating that the Palakkad facility may not be sufficient to manage the entire waste (both COVID and non-COVID) generated in the State. The Secretary of IMAGE had informed the board that it may not be able to collect, transport and dispose of the biomedical waste beyond the permitted capacity of 55 tonnes per day at its facility in Palakkad.
The board has issued a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of KEIL to start the operations of its new plant at Ambalamedu in Kochi immediately by using the waste allotted by the government from three districts that include Malappuram, Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta. It can also handle the waste generated in other health care institutions in these districts that had obtained application for affiliation with KEIL.
The board has asked IMAGE to support KEIL in starting its operations as the State can overcome the situation of handling the increased quantity of biomedical waste. The board has assessed that it would not be ideal to start the new plant of KEIL by processing the COVID biomedical waste as it may create apprehensions among the local public and create problems in the present situation. It is learnt that the board will soon issue the consent to operate letter to KEIL.
The board has asked the authorities at KEIL to conduct a trial run of the Ambalamedu facility by using the waste allotted by the government and those generated by the healthcare institutions in Malappuram, Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta.
As a starter in this field, you may handle the non-COVID biomedical waste initially and work on the distribution in consultation with the authorities of IMAGE, who have sufficient expertise in handling both types of waste, according to the letter sent to KEIL by the board. KEIL’s plant, which is located on nearly 3.5 acres, has the capacity to treat 15 to 16 tonnes of biomedical waste daily. It was set up at a cost of 14.5 crore.
