Construction work of a clinical waste management plant is in the final stage for the first time in the city and its operation is expected to start by next month.
Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) and Prism Foundation are jointly implementing the plant construction project aimed at bringing all the wastes including the risky and harmful ones produced in both public and private clinics, diagnostics and hospitals under proper and hygienic management and disposal.
The outhouse waste management plant being established on more than one bigha of land in Naodapara area will bring all the clinical wastes under hygienic management to protect the environment from pollution and contamination.
RCC Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton revealed this while visiting the plant construction site to see for himself of its progress recently saying management of clinical wastes is very important for establishing an eco-friendly atmosphere in all the hospitals, diagnostic centres and clinics along with their surrounding areas.
Among others, RCC Panel Mayor Shariful Islam Babu, Chief Engineer Ashraful Haque and Chief Conservancy Officer Sheikh Muhammad Mamun were present on the occasion.
Mayor Liton said clinical waste management is the precondition to ensure overall cleanliness in the hospital, reduce health risks of the service providers and to prevent the spreading of infectious diseases.
He said there are more than 200 diagnostic centres, clinics and hospitals only in the city producing around three to four tonnes of waste every day and the huge wastes are being dumped in the open places indiscriminately posing a serious threat to the public health as well as other wildlife.
There is an insinuator in the compound of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) in order to dispose of its waste but it remained non-functional for over the last one year. Currently, the RMCH is burning out its wastes in an open place which isn’t safe and hygienic.
In all aspects, there is no any modern medical waste management plant in the city. Whereas, there are tough laws against frequent and unhygienic disposal of the wastes, the mayor added.
He, however, said the upcoming plant will contribute a lot towards hygienic management and disposal of the medical waste in the city.
Engineer Ashraful Haque said lion portion of the infrastructural development works have already been completed and the plant is expected to go into functioning after installation of requisite machineries and instruments within the near future.
The plant will operate a covered van for collecting wastes from the existing clinics and hospitals regularly. Afterwards, those will be destroyed through categorically segregations.
Engineer Haque said the wastes will be destroyed in six modern and standard methods including insinuation, autoclave, chemical disinfection, slather, washing and dumping of the severed parts of the human body through the plant.
