India has generated 18,006 tonnes of biomedical waste since June, as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

Maharashtra leads the chart with 3,587 tonnes of waste. The recent report for the month of September also revealed that 5,500 tonnes of Covid-19 waste was generated in one month.

According to the information submitted by State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees as well as daily data received from the Covid19BWM tracking app, the average quantity of Covid-19-related biomedical waste generation is about 183 tonnes per day (TPD) for the month of September 2020.

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The Covid-19 biomedical wastes include used masks, PPE kits, gloves, shoe covers, items soiled with blood, blood bags, needles, and syringes, among others.

In September, Gujarat generated over 600 tonnes of biomedical waste, followed by Tamil Nadu (543) and Maharashtra (524).

Overall, Maharashtra generated a whopping 3,587 tonnes of Covid-19 biomedical waste, followed by Tamil Nadu (1,737 tonnes), Gujarat (1,638 tonnes), Kerala (1,516 tonnes), Uttar Pradesh (1,432 tonnes), Delhi (1,400 tonnes), Karnataka (1,380 tonnes) and West Bengal (1,000 tonnes).

Earlier in March, the CPCB had issued specific guidelines for handling, treatment, and disposal of such waste at healthcare facilities, quarantine centres, homes, sample collection centres, laboratories, pollution control boards, urban local bodies, and common biomedical waste treatment facilities (CBWTFs).

Also read: Time to bring in the ‘fourth’ bin for home medical waste

The guidelines directed state governments to handle Covid-19 samples with care and dispose the biomedical wastes diligently in order to not let the pathogens spread and transmit diseases.

The apex pollution body had, in May, developed the ‘Covid19BWM’ mobile application to monitor coronavirus-related biomedical waste and to compile the data through electronic manifest systems.

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