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New Delhi: E-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams with an annual growth rate of 3-5%. The Global E-waste Monitor Report 2020 mentions that 53.7 million metric tonnes (MMT) of e-waste was generated in 2019 globally, and it is expected to reach 74.7 MMT by 2030.
Also, India is the third-largest producer of e-waste and has generated 3.23 MMT e-waste in 2019 alone. India’s rising consumerism and paltry e-waste management ecosystem have placed us in a vulnerable state. Notably, e-waste contains several toxic materials such as lead, cadmium, chromium, brominated flame retardants, or polychlorinated biphenyls. Therefore, unregulated accumulation, landfilling, or inappropriate recycling processes poses a severe threat to human health and the environment.
Scientific Disposal of Bio-Medical Waste arising out of COVID-19 treatment
The issue for consideration in this matter was the remedial action to address the gaps in compliance of the BMW Rules, 2016, as applicable to the disposal of bio-medical waste arising out of handling of COVID-19 disease, so as to ensure protection of environment and public health, in view of potential of such infectious waste adversely affecting public health, concerned workers and professionals etc.
Disposal of COVID-19 waste in general bins so as to be part of municipal waste or unscientific handling sewage and other liquid waste without safeguards can be hazardous. Need was felt to incorporate best practices apart from continued supervision and monitoring, compiling data in an online format, use of electronic /digital manifest system to track and log COVID-19 waste from all sources, preventing its accidental spillage, analyzing the data for strategic planning and the feedback by creating nec