The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recently issued revised guidelines on the disposal of COVID-19 waste and directed that masks and gloves used by everyone, whether infected or not, should be cut and kept in paper bags for minimum 72 hours before disposing them.
CPCB further added, “Discarded PPEs from the general public at commercial establishments, shopping malls, institutions, offices, etc. should be stored in a separate bin for 3 days, thereafter, disposed of as dry general solid waste after cutting/shredding. Waste masks and gloves in general households should be kept in a paper bag for a minimum of 72 hours prior to disposal of the same as dry general solid waste after cutting the same to prevent reuse.”
This is the fourth time the CPCB has issued guidelines on the management of bio-medical waste generated from coronavirus. Clarifying the guidelines further, the pollution board said “Leftover food, empty juice bottles or tetra packs, empty water bottles, packaging material, and any other items, generated or handled by COVID-19 patient should be collected along with other general solid waste in bags securely tied for handing over to waste collectors,” it said.
The CPCB also recommended the use of bio-degradable or non-disposable cutlery to minimize waste generation. “In order to minimize waste generation, as far as possible, non-disposable items must be used for serving food, if the use of disposable items is inevitable, use biodegradable cutlery. The wet and dry solid waste bags should be tied securely in leak-proof bags, sprayed with sodium hypochlorite solution and handed over to authorized waste collector, said the board.
From COVID-19 isolation wards, used PPEs such as goggles, face-shield, splash-proof apron, plastic coveralls, hazmat suits, nitrile gloves must be collected and keep it separately, use double-layered bags for collection of COVID-19 waste and disinfect all bins/containers every day.
