New service launched for disposal of medical waste

Sharjah will benefit from the initiative in coming weeks

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Rex Features
Rex Features

Sharjah: The practice of dumping medical waste haphazardly in Sharjah neighbourhoods will soon be a thing of the past once Wekaya launches its services in the city.

"After a month and a half, the services of Wekaya will operate all across the emirate of Sharjah that will collect and dispose of medical waste from public and private hospitals as well as clinics," Khalid Al Huraimel, board member of Wekaya, told Gulf News yesterday.

Wekaya is a joint venture between the Sharjah Environmental Company Bee'ah and the non-profit organisation Green Planet, which will provide their services for a fee.

The announcement was made at a meeting with Sharjah Municipality, which outsourced the medical waste services to a regional company.

"Wekaya will also provide training for all medical staff who are required to handle medical waste, which ranges all the way from janitors up to doctors," Al Huraimel explained, noting that it will also enforce tougher regulations in the management of medical waste among hospitals and clinics.

All training and workshops for staff, in addition to the method of collecting and disposal of medical waste, have been approved and carried out with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health and Sharjah Medical Zone, and are implemented according to international safety standards.

Medical waste is not like regular waste and special care must be taken while disposing of it, and should be kept away from the general public. Medical waste includes blood, tissues, gloves, needles and other items that come in contact with organic matter in a medical setting.

"Our tactic has been to approach hospitals and clinics and then come to an agreement as to how many times they want our vehicles to collect their medical waste. Some said they required a daily pick-up while other smaller establishments only wanted the vehicles to pass by twice a week. Either way, we are meeting their demands."

Once the medical waste is collected, he added that it's then transferred to a plant in the Al Saja'a Industrial Area. The waste is then sterilised using an autoclave device that releases high pressure steam.

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