MAHARASHTRA STATE BOARD OF

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

A Micro-Project Report On

"Biomedical Waste Management

Rules, 2016"
Submitted by :

Mr. Asabe Aditya Santosh

Under the guidance of

Prof. Priyanka Padavale

Department of Civil Engineering

Academic Year 2021-22
Pandharpur-413304

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SVERI'S COLLEGE OF ENGENEERING
(POLYTECHNIC), PANDHARPUR

Certificate
This is to certify that the Project report entitled

“Biomedical Waste Management

Rules, 2016”
Is submitted by :
Mr. Asabe Aditya Santosh

for partial fulfillment of TY in Civil Engineering as per requirement of

MSBTE, Mumbai for the academic year 2021-2022.
\

(Mrs. Prof. Priyanka (Mr. R.J. Salunkhe) (Mr. N.D. Misal)

Padavale) HOD Principal
Guide

Date: / /20 Prof. External Examiner

Place: -----------------

Seal of
Institute

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks

Prof. Priyanka Padavale and deep since of gratitude to
our guide for his constant support, motivation valuable
guidance and immense.
Who provided us the facilities for completion of the
project? We are thankful to her for sharing her experience
in the research field with us and providing constant
motivation during entire project.
We would also like to express our gratitude to all our
friends who helped us lot for completion of our project
work.

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Index
Sr.No. Content Page
No.
1.  Introduction 5
2.  Biomedical waste 6
3.  Objective 7
4.  Main provisions 8
5.  Reforms and 10
suggestionsmedical
6.  Conclusion 12
7.  References 13

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Introduction

Hospitals and various other laboratories engender a

wide range and a significant quantity of wastes (including
biomedical or infectious waste) that has the ability to give
rise to various health problems and environmental hazards.
Generally in India, 1-2 kg waste per bed per day in a hospital
and 600 gm waste per day per bed in a clinic is generated,
out of which more than 15% is hazardous or infectious and
this hazardous waste is mixed with remaining waste which
results into the contamination of the entire waste. This is why
proper, effective, and efficient rules and regulations are
needed for segregation and disposal of waste. The
sustainable management of these wastes is the social and
legal responsibility of the government as well as the public at
large. So these wastes have to be properly collected,
transported, and disposed of in order to safeguard the
environment, and to streamline these activities various
guidelines and rules were published by the Government of
India in 1998 known as the Biomedical Waste (Management
and Handling) Rules, 1998.
These rules are continuously monitored, altered, and
updated from time to time as effective management is
necessary for a cleaner and greener environment. In 2016,
the Government of India decided to publish a new set of
rules, Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016,
supervening the old one with various changes and additions
in order to improve the collection, segregation, treatment,
and disposal facilities of these biomedical waste produced by
the hospitals and laboratories to mitigate the environmental
pollution. The treatment technologies identified include
incineration, microwaving, autoclaving, and chemical
treatment. This article includes the objective, salient features,
and suggestions regarding the new rules i.e. Biomedical
Waste Management Rules, 2016.
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Biomedical waste

Biomedical waste (hereinafter BMW) is defined under

the rules as any waste produced during the diagnosis,
treatment, or immunization of human or animal research
activities pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of
biological or in health camps.
In simple words, these wastes include animal anatomical
waste, human waste, medical apparatus like syringes,
needles, and other materials used in hospitals and other
laboratories(research center, nursing homes, blood bank,
pathological laboratories, etc) in the process of research and
treatment.
Biomedical wastes are divided into four color category:

1. Yellow: In this category, eight types of waste are

categorized- Human anatomical waste, animal anatomical
waste, soiled waste, expired or discarded waste, chemical
waste, chemical liquid waste(separate collection system
leading to effluent treatment system), discarded linen,
mattresses, beddings contaminated with blood or body
fluid, and microbiology, biotechnology, and other clinical
laboratory waste.
2. Red: It includes contaminated waste that is recyclable like
waste generated from disposable items such as tubing,
bottles, intravenous tubes and sets, urine bags, syringes,
and gloves.
3. White(Translucent): It includes waste sharps including
metals (includes used, contaminated and discarded metal
sharps)
4. Blue: It includes broken or contaminated or discarded glass
and metallic body implants.

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Objective

The main objective of these rules is based on the

concept of 3Rs, namely, reduce, recycle, and reuse. It aims
to delimit the waste, recover or reuse it as much as possible,
and avoid disposing of it. The waste should be tackled at the
origin or at source rather than the “end of pipe approach”.
These guidelines mainly focus on the application and
implementation of rules and regulations for the betterment of
the environment as well as the people. In these rules, it was
explicitly mentioned that these guidelines don’t apply to
hazardous chemicals, municipal solid waste, radioactive
waste, lead-acid batteries, e-waste, genetically engineered
organisms, and cells, and hazardous microorganisms which
are governed under other rules. The important elements of
the rules are training to workers, health checkups,
immunization, and occupation safety of the workers.
As per the Indian government data, the total biomedical
waste generated is 484 tonnes per day from 1,68,869 health
care facilities in the country but only 447 tonnes per day is
treated. There are only 198 common biomedical waste
treatment facilities in operation. The number of healthcare
facilities using common biomedical waste treatment facilities
is 1,31,837 and approximately 21870 health care facilities
have their own treatment facilities on-site. To overcome this
problem, these stringent rules have been notified by the
government and to ensure no pilferage of recyclables items
occurs.

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Main provisions

These rules have been modified completely to ensure the

management of regulation of biomedical waste in the
country. The term ‘handling’ is also being removed from the
name which gives more clarity about the management and
implications of the rules. Some of the updated and salient
features of the rules are as follows:

1. Now the wastes from vaccination camps, blood donation

camps, and surgical camps are also included, thus
expanding the scope of the rules.
2. Duties of both occupiers (one who has administrative
control over the health care facilities that is generating
biomedical wastes) and operators (one who controls the
facilities of collection, reception, transportation, treatment,
and disposal of biomedical wastes) are unambiguously
specified under these rules.
3. Setting up of a barcode system for biomedical waste that is
to be sent for treatment or disposal.
4. Maintenance of biomedical waste register daily and
monthly updates on the website either by the operator or
occupier and also the maintenance of all the records for
operation of hydroclaving/incineration/autoclaving for a
period of 5 years.
5. The method i.e. segregation, packaging, transportation,
and storage of biomedical wastes has been improved and
the waste has been classified into four categories instead
of ten for efficacious management.
6. There should be a distance of seventy-five kilometers of
common biomedical waste treatment facility and onsite
treatment or disposal facility. State governments should

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also provide the land for the establishment of a common
biomedical waste treatment facility and disposal facility.
7. The use of chlorinated plastic gloves, bags, blood bags,
etc. should be gradually stopped.
8. Compulsory pretreatment of the laboratory, microbiological
waste, and blood bags on-site before disposal either at
Common biomedical waste treatment facility or on-site. The
method of sterilization/disinfection should be in accordance
with the World Health Organisation or the National AIDS
Control Organization (NACO).
9. Standards for emission from incinerators have been
modified to be more environmentally friendly. Residence
time in the secondary chamber of the incinerator – two
seconds; standard for dioxin and furans – 0.1 ng
TEQ/Nm^3 are the permissible limit for SPM-50 mg/nm^3.
10. The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate
change will monitor the implementation of rules yearly. The
responsibility of each state to check for compliance will be
done by setting up a district-level committee under the
chairpersonship of District Collector or District Magistrate
or Additional District Magistrate. In addition, every 6
months, this committee shall submit its report to the State
Pollution Control Board.

9
Reforms and suggestionsmedical

Biomedical waste Management Rules, 2016 was also

altered and updated to improve compliance and strengthen
the implementation for a better environment. In 2018, the
Government of India published the Bio-Medical Waste
Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018. Some of the major
reforms in 2018 rules are:

1. Complete phasing out of chlorinated plastic items such as

bags and gloves from the bio-medical waste generators
including hospitals, dispensaries, animal houses, clinics,
nursing homes, blood banks, etc.
2. Within two years of the publication of these rules, all
institutions have to publish an annual report on its site.
3. In accordance with the guidelines issued by the Central
Pollution Control Board, all the operators of common bio-
medical waste treatment and disposal facilities have to
establish a global positioning system and as well as a
barcoding system for handling of bio-medical waste.
4. The State Pollution Control Board has to compile, review
and analyze the information received by the operators and
also have to send these reports to the Central Pollution
Control Board, which keeps detailed information regarding
district-wise waste generation.
One of the major challenges that will be faced by the
healthcare facilities and hospitals in implementing these
rules and guidelines is Lack of funds- as to phase out
chlorinated plastic bags and to establish a global positioning
and a barcode system for biomedical waste, a huge cost will
be incurred and the time span for the same is very short i.e.
two years.
Another major challenge is the use of incinerators and the
hazards it causes. After implementing the first rules in 1998,
India saw a boom in the installation of incinerators. It is the
system that is based on the high temperature that kills the
pathogen and in the process, it also destroys the material in

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which the microbes reside. But the limitation of this system is
that it produces a number of toxins during the process such
as products of incomplete combustion and dioxins. These
products of incomplete combustion are the particles that are
formed during incineration and dissociation of waste
components. By this method, metals are not destroyed but
dispersed into the environment causing serious health
problems. These toxins have a tendency to accumulate in
fatty acids and travel up the food chain. This damages the
immune and endocrine system of humans. In foreign
countries like the Philippines and Denmark, the construction
and use of incinerators are banned, similar steps should be
taken by the Government of India to mitigate these toxins
from the environment.
The major technology used for disposal of biomedical
waste is incineration, microwaving, autoclaving, and
chemical treatment, but apart from these some new
technologies have also been developed or are still under
research such as thermal processes, biological processes,
irradiative processes, and chemical processes. In the
thermal processes mostly waste including cultures, soft
waste (gauze, bandages, and gowns), human waste,
laboratory waste, and sharp medical instruments are
sterilized. These thermal processes are divided into three
groups- low heat technologies (operating between 93 C and
177 C) which include microwaves and autoclaves, medium
heat technologies(operating between 177 C and 540 C)
which include reverse polymerization and thermal
depolymerization, and high heat technologies (operating
between 540C and 8300C) which include plasma, induction,
lase oxidation based pyrolysis. In biological processes, bio
converter and biodegradable plastic systems are used for the
disposal of biomedical waste.

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Conclusion

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution gives us the right to

live in a clean and safe environment. To protect this right,
efficient and effective biomedical waste management should
be done not only by the government but also by the people
themselves. The Biomedical Waste Management Rules,
2016 are improved in terms of the facilities like segregation,
collection, transportation, and disposal methods to mitigate
environmental pollution and safeguard human health. These
rules serve as the checklist to accomplish the goal of
biomedical waste management for the operator occupier, the
regulatory authority, and other authorities. The pillar of these
rules is the segregation of waste and the concept of 3Rs on
which it is based, namely, reduce, recycle, and reuse. Eco-
friendly systems, development of newer novel technologies
for disposal of biomedical wastes should be encouraged
rather than using the methods which harm the environment
such as the incineration process. All representatives involved
in the process of biomedical waste management should take
a pledge to guarantee a cleaner and greener environment.
“Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, and Repeat.”

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References
1. Safe management of wastes from health-care activities,
WHO, 2nd edition.
2. Pandey, A., Ahuja, S., Madan, M., & Asthana, A. K. (2016).
Bio-Medical Waste Management in a Tertiary Care
Hospital: An Overview. Journal of clinical and diagnostic
research: JCDR, 10(11), DC01DC03.
https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/22595.8822
3. Datta, P., Mohi, G. K., & Chander, J. (2018). Biomedical
waste management in India: Critical appraisal. Journal of
laboratory physicians, 10(1), 6-14.
https://doi.org/10.4103/JLP.JLP_89_17
4. Kharat, Dr. D.S.. (2016). Biomedical Waste Management
Rules, 2016: A review. International of advanced Research
and Development. 1. 48-51.
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