Uptick in hospital waste, unseen side of coronavirus crisis
Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Tehran
As the coronavirus continues to sweep the world, another crisis is growing along with the virus on daily basis; medical waste. The fight against the pandemic has triggered a sudden uptick in volumes of hospital trash.
Just in Tehran, the daily waste from hospitals has nearly doubled from 70 tons to 120 tons each day. Safe disposal of all this medical waste is now a challenge.
The machines process plus 30 kilograms of hospital waste per hour. They operate based on a technology called bio-drying, where hospital garbage is rapidly heated to remove moisture from a waste stream and therefore reduce its overall weight.
The company says its equipment are designed and produced from A to Z based on domestic know-how. It is significant because Iran cannot import such high-tech waste treatment machinery due to the US-led sanctions.
As one of the worst hit countries, Iran has mobilized all its sectors to help tackle the crisis.
Health professionals believe waste management is now an integral part of the fight against COVID-19. They say if hospital waste is not discarded efficiently, it would perpetuate the virus by playing the role of a carrier at large.
As the coronavirus grows, so will the resulting garbage. Healthcare experts say medical waste treatment is the unseen side of the crisis, which will continue to be a challenge until the pandemic is over.
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