Waste Management and Pollution Control
Reports detailing the current state of healthcare waste management across 14 Pacific Island countries and Timor Leste are now available following a regional baseline survey carried out by SPREP consultants between March and May this year. PacWaste - a four-year, €7.85m project funded by the European Union and implemented by SPREP, undertook the regional assessment to determine how healthcare waste is managed by hospitals and health facilities in participating countries and identify the best treatment options for the Pacific.
Healthcare waste is hazardous as it can be infectious and toxic and poses a risk to both human health and the environment. It therefore must be handled, treated and disposed of appropriately. High temperature incineration (>1000 degrees Celsius) is considered the most effective form of treatment. The survey found that not all hospitals incinerate their healthcare waste, with some sending their waste untreated to landfill. In addition, some hospitals do not have sufficient capacity to deal with the volumes of generated waste, with stockpiles ranging from a few hundred kilograms to shipping container loads in at least six countries, including stocks of expired pharmaceutical products, which are often donated by other countries.
Waste segregation was also assessed, as well as management of sharps (needles/syringes) to prevent needlestick injuries and types and frequency of staff training on infection control and waste handling. The findings will help SPREP identify the priority interventions that will be offered to hospitals committed to improving healthcare waste management, including provision of high temperature incinerators, equipment and training. As part of the PacWaste project, SPREP will also offer support to hospitals and countries at the national level to help strengthen existing frameworks and assist in developing policies. This will aim to have healthcare waste recognised as a national hazardous waste priority and the project interventions are maintained as part of sustainable healthcare waste management. As part of this intervention phase, SPREP has recently released a tender to find an appropriate incinerator supplier to the region.
To download the country reports for the healthcare waste baseline survey, go to: www.sprep.org/pacwaste/healthcare-waste
The PacWaste project is also working in three other hazardous waste areas - asbestos, E-waste and atoll solid integrated waste management.
For more information, contact SPREP Project Manager Stewart Williams ([email protected]) or SPREP Project Officer Jade Tavane ([email protected]).
Pictured above: Majuro Hospital, Republic of Marshall Islands (2014)
Healthcare waste is hazardous as it can be infectious and toxic and poses a risk to both human health and the environment. It therefore must be handled, treated and disposed of appropriately. High temperature incineration (>1000 degrees Celsius) is considered the most effective form of treatment. The survey found that not all hospitals incinerate their healthcare waste, with some sending their waste untreated to landfill. In addition, some hospitals do not have sufficient capacity to deal with the volumes of generated waste, with stockpiles ranging from a few hundred kilograms to shipping container loads in at least six countries, including stocks of expired pharmaceutical products, which are often donated by other countries.
Waste segregation was also assessed, as well as management of sharps (needles/syringes) to prevent needlestick injuries and types and frequency of staff training on infection control and waste handling. The findings will help SPREP identify the priority interventions that will be offered to hospitals committed to improving healthcare waste management, including provision of high temperature incinerators, equipment and training. As part of the PacWaste project, SPREP will also offer support to hospitals and countries at the national level to help strengthen existing frameworks and assist in developing policies. This will aim to have healthcare waste recognised as a national hazardous waste priority and the project interventions are maintained as part of sustainable healthcare waste management. As part of this intervention phase, SPREP has recently released a tender to find an appropriate incinerator supplier to the region.
To download the country reports for the healthcare waste baseline survey, go to: www.sprep.org/pacwaste/healthcare-waste
The PacWaste project is also working in three other hazardous waste areas - asbestos, E-waste and atoll solid integrated waste management.
For more information, contact SPREP Project Manager Stewart Williams ([email protected]) or SPREP Project Officer Jade Tavane ([email protected]).