Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility Setup

With the growing population of India, the number of people who visit hospitals and healthcare facilities is also on the rise, and with this comes bio-medical waste into the picture, whose poor management in the country has become a headache to the government. What exactly is biomedical waste? Well, as per the Biomedical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2016 biomedical waste means any waste, which is generated during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals or research activities pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of biological or in health camps. Being Hazardous and infectious in nature, Biomedical waste comes under a special category of waste and that’s why it is treated separately in a common biomedical waste treatment & disposal facility.

Categories of Biomedical waste:

According to Biomedical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2016 India there are 10 categories of biomedical waste; every category is treated and disposed of according to their composition of waste. 

Why it is necessary to treat biomedical waste?

Serious health hazards are associated with biomedical waste, if not treated properly. Untreated biomedical waste leads to the spread of infectious disease in humans & animals, it also pollutes the environment. It can cause water pollution, soil pollution, and air pollution, and when living beings are exposed to this polluted environment, they eventually get infected. At present, people are not aware of the hazards associated with biomedical waste & they also need to know the importance of biomedical waste management. Lack of awareness is also a reason for improper management of Biomedical Waste Management.

So, for the proper management of biomedical waste government came up with the idea of the Common Biomedical Waste Treatment & Disposal Facility 

What is a Common Biomedical Waste Treatment & Disposal Facility & what is the importance of this facility?

A Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility or in simple words a biomedical waste management plant is a setup where biomedical waste generated from member healthcare facilities is treated to reduce the negative effect that can harm human health and the environment. The treated waste was finally sent for disposal in a secured landfill.

According to the Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, "bio-medical waste treatment and disposal facility" means any place where treatment, or disposal of bio-medical waste is carried out.

The CBWTFs are also required to work in a manner that ensures environmentally sound management of bio-medical with less impact on human health and the environment.

• Proper Disposal of Hazardous Waste

You’d be shocked to know that India generated over 56000 tonnes of biomedical waste, all alone between mid-2020-2021 and this figure has been on the rise since then. Biomedical waste treatment and disposal facility proves to be a viable solution to this issue as it ensures the treatment and disposal of these biomedical waste materials in an efficient and sustainable manner. This helps to secure public health and the environment from the harmful effects of such waste.

• Prevention of Disease Outbreaks

Often we see how unmanaged biomedical waste leads to the outbreak of diseases and affects the lives of millions. In fact, bad management of bio-medical waste is one of the reasons India is facing health hazards, such as Tuberculosis, pneumonia, diarrhea, etc. By setting up a biomedical disposal facility, the spread of these infectious diseases can be contained, which can help to ease the burden on the overly filled healthcare facilities.

• Bring Down the Pollution Level

Many times healthcare facilities dispose of biomedical waste in open dumps and unsanitary landfills and the reason they do this can be anything. But the consequences of such actions take a heavy toll on the environment and public health. This shows the significance of Biomedical waste treatment and disposal facilities in countries worldwide, especially India, where such incidents are often seen. They can not only transform the major chunk of bio-medical waste into useful resources but also reduce the burden on the overfilled landfills.

• Rising Market

Till we’ve been talking about bio-medical waste management from the perspective of the environment and general health, but what about the country’s economy? As per Statista, 

The market value of the biomedical waste recycling sector across India was over INR 1 billion in 2018 and this has been obviously on the rise since then, especially because of the covid pandemic. This is the reason setting up a bio-medical treatment plant stands as a viable business idea and thousands of entrepreneurs are attracted to it. 

• Employment Opportunities

Bio-medical management sector requires a lot of workforce as it involves several processes and 

It’s obvious that with its growth comes the creation of more employment opportunities for the people of the country. This means if bio-medical waste is managed properly, it can lead to the development of the country’s economy and people. 

• Compliance With Environmental Regulations

Last but not least the benefit of biomedical waste treatment and disposal facilities is they indirectly help healthcare facilities, including clinics, and hospitals, comply with regulations and guidelines associated with biomedical waste management, whose violation can attract legal penalties and fines.

In India, if someone wants to set up a Biomedical Waste Treatment Plant then, he has to fulfill some criteria that are issued by the Government and are updated from time to time by the CPCB. At present, there are 192 no. of CBWTFs in operation and 33 no. of CBWTFs are under construction. Also, the Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 mandates that the operator of a CBWTF It is the responsibility of the occupier of the CBWTF to take all necessary steps to ensure that the bio-medical waste collected from the generator is transported, handled, stored, treated, and disposed of, without any adverse effect on the human health and the environment.

Location criteria

• A CBWTF shall be developed in an industrial area.
• A CBWTF shall be located at a distance of not less than 500 m from areas where humans live and sensitive areas so that it shall have minimal impact on these areas.
• If a land doesn’t have a buffer zone distance of 500 m from the notified residential area then it can be reduced but not less than 250 m.

Land requirement

• To construct a CBWTF sufficient land has to be there so that all requisite systems have their own space.
• For establishing a CBWTF at least 1 acre of land is required.
• A CBWTF can be constructed in two plots but not located in different areas
• In the case of new CBWTFs, the land area requirement may be relaxed but not less than 0.5 acres. 

The coverage area of CBWTF

• A CBWTF shall be given permission to handle the healthcare units situated within a radial distance of 75 KM. If in coverage area 10,000 beds are not available within a radial distance of 75 KM, then the existing CBWTF can cater to the healthcare units situated up to 150 KM
• In case, if number of beds is more than 10,000, in such a case, a new CBWTF may be allowed to construct in such a locality.

Treatment equipment

• Incineration/Plasma Pyrolysis
• Incineration is a combustion process where waste is burned in the presence of oxygen and harmful microorganisms present in it are destroyed.
• In plasma pyrolysis, waste is treated at high temperatures under controlled conditions to form gases like methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide
• Autoclaving/Hydroclaving
• Autoclaving is a low-heat thermal process that is used to sterilize the waste
• Hydroclaving is similar to that of autoclaving but here water is used instead of steam
• Microwaving-In microwaving, microbes are inactivated by providing them microwave radiation
• Chemical disinfection-Chemical disinfection is used to disinfect the glass waste
• Shredder-Shredding is a process in which waste is cut down into smaller pieces.
• Sharp pit/ Encapsulation-A sharp pit or a facility for sharp encapsulation is a container or a puncture-proof or cement concrete tank where sharps are.
• Vehicle/Containers washing facility-There shall be a facility where cleaning of vehicles and containers can be done when returning from collecting waste.
• Effluent Treatment Plant-Effluent Treatment Plant can treat the wastewater and that treated water can be reused in the future.

Infrastructure set up

The CBWTF shall have enough space to install the required treatment equipment in the facility.

• Treatment Equipment Room: There shall be separate places given to each piece of equipment at the CBWTF such as an incinerator room, autoclave room, microwave room etc.
• Main waste storage space: Separate space shall be given in CBWTF to unload and store all biomedical wastes that have been transported to the CBWTF by its own transportation vehicle.
• Treated waste storage room: Separate space should be provided for every kind of waste. The wastes shall be stored in a separate place as per the disposal technique.
• Administrative Room: Administrative room can be shall be utilized for general administration, record keeping, billing, etc.
• Generator set: CBWTF shall have a generator set as backup, whenever there is a power cut situation then the generator can run the treatment equipment.
• Vehicle Parking: Parking provision shall be there in the CBWTF Facility so that whenever the vehicles arrive for the loading and unloading of the waste they can be parked.
• First Aid Box: First Aid Box with necessary provisions needs to be provided at all the salient points within the facility
• Green Belt: The open area left in the CBWTF can be used for green belt development.
• Record keeping: Record keeping is very important for all operations carried out at the CBWTF, which also contains overall operations carried out within the CBWTF.
• Records of Waste Movements: Daily records shall be maintained for the waste collected, transported, treated, and disposed

Logbook for the treatment equipment

A logbook shall be kept for each piece of equipment installed at the CBWTF and shall include the following:

• The weight of the waste treated.
• The weight of waste according to the categories as per the Rules.
• The time, date, and duration of each treatment process and total hours of operations.
• The complete details parameters during the treatment process.

Collection of bio-medical waste from the Health Care Institutions

Segregated Biomedical Waste is collected from the generator's premises it is the responsibility of the generator to segregate the waste according to the color-coding mentioned in the Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016. The waste generated shall be segregated & collected according to the color coding. Failure of this will lead to a violation of the rules.

• Transportation of the collected bio-medical waste from the Healthcare institutions to the CBWTF:
• Transportation vehicles must be equipped with GPS so that every movement of the vehicle can be tracked.
• Separate cabins must be constructed within the transport vehicle for the driver/staff as well
• For placing the designated color-coded bio-medical waste dustbins, there shall be separate cabins inside the vehicle
• The waste cabin shall be so designed so that it can be easy to wash and disinfect.

As per the Biomedical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2016, there are certain duties that every operator of the Common Biomedical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility has to fulfill. Below, we have listed a few majors of them - 

• Takes all the necessary steps to make sure that the management of biomedical waste collected from the occupier happens without any environmental impact or harm to human health, in compliance with the rules and guidelines of the central government or CPCB.
• Make certain that the collection of biomedical waste from the occupiers happens timely as per the regulatory requirements. 
• Put in place a barcoding and global positioning system to ensure biomedical management within one year.
• Immediately notify the appropriate authorities about the occupiers which are not providing the segregated bio-medical waste in accordance with the existing rules.
• Conduct training for all its workers involved in the management of biomedical waste at the time of induction and at least once a year thereafter.
• Provide appropriate and adequate personal protective equipment to the employed workers for their occupational safety.
• Notify major accidents including accidents caused by fire hazards, and blasts during the biomedical waste management and the remedial action taken and the records relevant thereto.
• Upload the details of authorization, treatment, annual report, etc. on its website.
• Keep records for each of its treatment equipment according to the weight of batch; categories of waste treated, time, date, and duration of the treatment cycle, and total hours of operation.

The followings are the key documents you must have to set up a bio-medical waste treatment plant-

• PAN card of the director
• Aadhaar card of the director
• Recent electricity bill
• Ownership proof/Lease deed/Rent agreement
• Layout plan of the business area
• Passport size photographs
• MoA (Memorandum of Association) for the Private Limited Company
• Water bill, if available
• CA letter
• Project Brief
• Land Document

The process of Bio-medical waste management involves 6 sequential steps:

• Collection is the process in which the waste is collected at the premises of waste generators.
• Segregation also takes place at the waste generator premises where waste is segregated according to the category and color-coding criteria issued by the biomedical waste management rules.
• After segregation Storage of waste is done. Waste is stored in a separate place where no interference of anybody take place as this can increases the case of infection of not proper handle.
• Transportation of stored waste carried out, which is transported to the CBWTF.
• Treatment of the transported waste is carried out in the CBWTF facility. Treatment is done to reduce the negative effect of the waste.
• Disposal is the last step where the treated waste is disposed to landfill.

Environmental laws applicable for operation of a CBWTF

Before establishing a CBWTF, the occupier of the CBWTF have to take the permission from the concerned department. The Concerned department after scrutinizing all the documents of the project proponent makes decision to grant or reject the permission.

• Valid consents under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
• Valid Consent under BMWM Rules, 2016
• Environmental Clearance under EIA Notification 2020
• Permission from local authority (MCD/CLU/Gram Panchayat)

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