Biomedical Waste Management: The Challenge amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Proper biomedical waste (BMW) management in accordance to the stipulated rule was one of the neglected aspects of health care for years, especially in developing countries like India. Since the BMW Management Rules, 2016 by Government of India (GoI), Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change initiated changes by prescribing simplified categories (color coded) for segregation of different BMWs, an amendment in 2018 also came into force with the aim to improve the compliance to the rules.[1] [2] Nonetheless, proper segregation, handling, and disposal remained a serious concern for health care facilities across India with an annual growth rate of 7% with a projected estimate up to 775.5 tonnes/d by the year 2022.[3]