Continuing its drive to replace plastic bags with compostable bags, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has decided to replace plastic bags with compostable bags for collection, storage and disposal of bio-medical waste in the hospitals.Around 8-10 tonnes of plastic bags are used for storage and disposal of bio-medical waste by the healthcare facilities in Punjab.During the launching of compostable bags for collection, storage and disposal of biomedical waste were done by the team of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and PPCB at Civil Hospital, Ludhiana.Aditya Narayan, Joint Director, MoEFCC, New Delhi, Shradha Gupta, UNIDO, PPCB Chief Environmental Engineer (CEE) Pradeep Gupta, SEE Rajiv Garg and other officials of the PPCB and representative from hospitals of the district covered under the UNIDO project were present.
The representatives were distributed red colour coded compostable bags for use for collection, storage and disposal of biomedical waste by the common biomedical waste treatment facility operator M/s Medicare Environmental Management Private Limited, Ludhiana. PPCB CEE, Ludhiana Pradeep Gupta appealed to the hospitals to shift towards compostable bags as an environmentally friendly approach.He said that PPCB has already done trial of these bags by providing sample bags free of cost to some common Bio-Medical waste treatment facilities and health care facilities like Fortis Hospital, Mohali, Max Hospital, Mohali, DMC Hospital, Ludhiana; CMC Hospital, Ludhiana; Columbia Asia Hospital, Patiala; Fortis Escorts Hospital, Amritsar; Hargun Hospital, Amritsar; Indus Hospital, SAS Nagar; Sadbhawana Medical & Heart Institute, Patiala; Medicare Environmental Management Pvt. Ltd., Ludhiana; Amritsar Enviro-Care Management Pvt. Ltd., Amritsar and Rainbow Environments Pvt. Ltd., SAS Nagar.He also added that the bags were found to be durable and the strength of the bags was found to be good. The trial of the bags was found to be successful, he told.