Counties aiming to buy incinerators, microwaves for safer waste disposal

The Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu, seems to have got its medical waste disposal right.

On a visit to the  wards, one is sure to notice  the conspicuously labelled red, yellow and black waste bins.

The yellow is for “sharps only’’, red  for 'soiled cotton swab and gloves', while the black bin is for non-medical waste.

While this labelling might not mean much to the ordinary Kenyan, to  the health workers, they are life-changing.

The hospital’s Medical Superintendent, Dr Sam Oula, says that 10 years ago, they would dump everything into the same bin, but separating them makes their work easier, since some are fire-resitant.

WASTE

The hospital produces close to 50-70kg of infectious and highly infectious waste per day. Each ward can produce about 0.2kg of waste per day, 15 per cent of which is infectious.

Since the hospital does not have its own incinerators, it outsources the services from Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital three days a week.

“We have signed a memorandum of understanding with the hospital, and the only thing buy is fuel since we use diesel to run the generator to burn the waste. This costs us about Sh1,000. We burn the waste three times a week,” Dr Oula said.

He adds: “We collaborate in many ways with the public hospital so they don’t really charge us but we must take care of the fuel.”

The ash from the incinerator is shovelled into a specially designed pit, whose walls are reinforced with concrete to prevent it from seeping into the environment and nearby water bodies.

The medic said the waste, if left lying around the hospital, provides a breeding ground for infections and diseases and poses a serious threat to those who come across it.

POLYTHENE BAGS

Dr Oula said  the government’s ban on  polythene bags made it more difficult for them to to dispose of the waste.

In Nakuru,  residents have for many years been faced with health risks posed by improper disposal of medical waste.

However, the purchase of a Sh90 million shredder and microwave that will process waste  for more than 20 health facilities in the region is set to end the woes.

The machine, donated by the national government in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), is expected to start operating this month.

Dr Joseph  Mburu, the Medical Superintendent of the Nakuru Level Five Hospital where the machine is installed, said staff will be trained on the right -way to handle  medical waste.

SHREDDER

“The machine will burn the waste to ash. It will process 20 tonnes at ago. Already, we have staff who know how to operate it but we will train more,” Dr Mburu said.

The hospital serves more than five counties, including  Kericho, Baringo, Nyandarua, Samburu and Narok as a referral centre.

According to Dr Mburu, the shredder will be used be alongside an autoclave or microwave.

The shredder will  be used to destroy plastics and will increase the capacity  of disposing of waste mainly from laboratories, dental and medical research facilities, and  blood banks, among others, from more than 20 health facilities.

Others are expired chemicals  and drugs, contaminated  blood, surgical waste  and medical devices.

County Public Health officer Samuel King’ori said the county government had bought special trucks that will ferry the waste to Nakuru from Naivasha, Molo and other stations.

Previously, health facilities in the county like the Molo and Naivasha sub-county hospitals did not have proper waste disposal systems.

BURNING WASTE

Molo Sub-county was last month on the spot for burning its medical waste in an open dumpsite exposing residents to harmful emissions.

At the Naivasha Sub-county hospital, the incinerator previously used previously often broke down.

Meanwhile, Langalanga Health Centre had a small incinerator.

A report released by a health task force formed by Governor Lee Kinyanjui in October 2017, showed that most hospitals in the county lack proper waste disposal systems.

The task force, chaired by former Egerton University  Vice-Chancellor Prof James Tuitoek, found that various facilities have poor quality burning chambers which churn out partially burnt medical waste that is later buried in shallow pits.

The task force visited the health facilities in all the  county’s 55 wards and established that some hospitals were  burning or burying  medical waste, contrary to environmental and medical  ethics.

The team said residents risked contracting diseases such as hepatitis and HIV. It recommended that the county government invest in an effective  medical waste incinerator  to serve both public and private hospitals.

CHALLENGES

In 2016, six private hospitals in the county were put accused of dumping their waste at Gioto dumpsite in Nakuru town.

Last year, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) said more than 60 per cent of public health facilities in rural areas were yet to comply with waste management regulations. 

Homa Bay County, for instance, had serious challenges, with some medical waste being dumped in the open. But in its health budget for the  2015/2016 and 2017/2018 financial years, the county allocated funds for renovating and building medical waste disposal units at the  referral hospital and its eight sub-county hospitals.

In Lamu, all major health facilities have  incinerators. County Public Health Officer in charge of waste management Haji Shibu said more than 10 incinerators have been installed in Mpeketoni, Faza, Witu, Mokowe, Lamu hospitals.

In Mombasa, Health Chief Officer Khadija Shikely said: “We have a large incinerator and shredder at the Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH), which we use to manage the waste,”  adding that Belgium recently donated a microwave to the hospital.