A lady Councilor has urged the Quezon City Health Department to formulate safe and sustainable health care waste management plan for the proper and safe disposal of hospital wastes in the city.
In an approved city council resolution, Fourth District Councilor Jessica Castelo Daza said that there are numerous hospital and health care facilities located in Quezon City producing thousands of tons of medical waste annually.
She said the improper handling and disposal of hospital and health care wastes is creating serious problems and poses substantial risk to patients, health care workers, the community and the environment.
Infectious wastes from hospitals and health care facilities, if not treated, can spread diseases, she said.
Although, the safe and sustainable handling and disposal is a serious responsibility of hospitals and health care facilities, it is also the responsibility and duty of the local government to provide the mechanism and resources necessary to develop, implement and monitor a health care waste management system, which will safeguard the safety of health workers and the community, she also said.
Chemical disinfection is not a sustainable method for the treatment of infectious waste because of the hazardous effects of chemicals to the health workers and to the environment, according to Daza.
She said that a safer alternative treatment technology is needed to address the treatment and final disposal of infectious wastes.
Daza said eighty percent (80%) of the waste produced in hospitals and other healthcare facilities is not hazardous but ordinary waste like that from homes and offices, if it is not mixed with more dangerous wastes, can be used or recycled.
This can reduce the amount spent on specialist treatment and disposal, and even produce income from the sale of paper, plastic and other recyclables, she said. Divine/ Maureen Quiñones, PAISO, QC
