Setting a unique example of eco-awareness, around 90 nursing home operators have formed a company to install a common incinerator facility at Bhopal. In the past 15 days of its operation, bio-medical waste of around 350-400 kilograms is collected daily.

The company, Bhopal Incinerators Ltd, charges a sum of Rs 3 per bed per day from its members for the waste disposal. And from non-members, they charge Rs 4.5 per bed on daily basis. The nursing home operators have contracted Hoswin Incinerators Pvt Ltd for installation of equipment and waste disposal.

According to Asad Warsi, director, Hoswin Incinerators Pvt Ltd, the segregation and collection of the waste is being done by individual hospitals and nursing homes at source of generation, in different colour coded bins or buckets having poly bags as per MoEF Guidelines. The waste containers bags carry non-washable and prominently visible `Biohazard, Cytotoxic symbol'.

The waste is divided into ten categories and disposed off in bags with colours yellow, red, blue and black. The segregated waste is collected in buckets having poly bags and is packed and tagged by individual hospital and nursing homes as per Schedule IV (Rule 6) of Biomedical Waste Management & Handling Rules, 1998, said Warsi.

The company has started collecting the waste from different hospitals in a closed vehicle from their doorsteps after confirmation of its foolproof packaging. This material is transported to the incinerator site in vehicles carrying colour-coded leak-proof containers for collection.

This process also allows the company to keep a record of the to generation, collection, reception, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of bio-medical waste in accordance with the rules and guidelines issued. The company will submit an annual report to the Directorate Health Services in every year.