Telangana among few states ensuring 100 per cent treatment of biomedical waste

Hyderabad: Telangana is among the few States in the country that has been ensuring 100 per cent treatment of biomedical waste generated in the State through incineration or autoclave. This is despite the surge in generation of biomedical waste due to Covid pandemic. In 2016, about 13,220 kgs of biomedical waste was generated a day […]

Hyderabad: Telangana is among the few States in the country that has been ensuring 100 per cent treatment of biomedical waste generated in the State through incineration or autoclave.

This is despite the surge in generation of biomedical waste due to Covid pandemic. In 2016, about 13,220 kgs of biomedical waste was generated a day in the State and it increased to 23,810 kgs in 2020. And, all the biomedical waste generated was treated through various methods, according to the Socio Economic Outlook 2022.

In 2020, of the 23,810 kgs biomedical waste generated a day, 17,819 kgs was treated through incineration and 5,991 kgs through autoclave, equipment which disinfects certain types of medical waste. The treated waste was disposed through authorized recyclers, as per the report.

There are 11 Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWTFs) in the State, which collect and ensure safe disposal of biomedical waste. These CBWTFs are permitted by Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) and 51 biomedical waste carrying vehicles are equipped with GPS tracking mechanism to avoid any irregularities.

Solid Waste Management

On par with biomedical waste generation and treatment, there is a steady increase in the treatment of solid waste management in the State. The percentage of solid waste being treated in the State has increased from 61.4 per cent in 2016-17 to 75.56 per cent in 2020-21.

Similarly, during 2016-17, solid waste collection was 89.9 per cent across the State and due to the measures initiated by the State Government, waste collection increased to 100 per cent by 2020- 21.

All the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) in the State have identified lands for setting up processing facilities. Among these, 113 ULBs have established 279 dry resource collection centres to process dry waste and 102 ULBs have established wet processing facilities like vermi-compost yards.

In addition to increase in waste collection, efforts are being made to generate energy from the waste and ensure scientific disposal. Currently, five waste-to-energy plants are operational in Telangana. Among these, four plants are installed with a capacity of 35.6 MW each and one with a capacity of 19.8 MW.

 

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