New Delhi: India is sitting on a ticking bio-medical waste crisis. Shocking data reveals that nearly 700 tonnes of bio-medical waste are generated every day from hospitals across the country. Of this, more than 140 tonnes — over 20 per cent — reportedly remain untreated, posing a grave threat to public health and the environment.
Dr. M. Srinivas, Dir. AIIMS
According to the Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr M. Srinivas, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics without prescription, failure to complete the full course of treatment, and improper disposal of biomedical waste are significantly accelerating the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). He emphasised that rational clinical use of medicines and scientific management of medical waste are essential to safeguard the effectiveness of treatments in the future.
Dr Sandeep Bansal, Dir. Safdarjung Hospital
Dr Sandeep Bansal, Director of Safdarjung Hospital, echoed similar concerns, stating that uncontrolled antibiotic consumption and negligence in biomedical waste management are creating a serious public health risk. He warned that unless current practices improve, even common infections may become increasingly difficult to treat in the coming years.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the country produces approximately 2.55 lakh tonnes of medical waste annually. While a large portion is treated through authorized facilities, a significant quantity slips through regulatory cracks — finding its way into open dumps, water bodies and groundwater.
Experts warn that the untreated waste does not just pollute air and water — it is silently entering the human body through contaminated water, fish, crops irrigated with polluted groundwater and even through improper disposal in residential areas.
The fallout is far more dangerous than it appears. Improperly discarded antibiotics and hospital waste are accelerating the spread of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) — a growing global crisis where bacteria become resistant to medicines. In simple terms, infections stop responding to treatment, routine procedures become risky, and the threat of severe illness and death multiplies.
India has nearly 70,000 government and private hospitals, and under existing norms, all healthcare facilities are required to be affiliated with a Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility (CBWTF). These centralized units collect, treat and scientifically dispose of waste from multiple hospitals.
However, compliance remains a major concern.
Under the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and implemented by the CPCB along with State Pollution Control Boards, strict segregation and disposal protocols are mandatory.
Medical Waste. Credit: CANVA
Waste must be segregated at the point of generation into colour-coded containers. Yellow Bag: Human tissues, soiled waste, expired medicines (for incineration), Red Bag: Contaminated recyclable plastics (autoclaving and shredding), White (Translucent) Container: Sharps like needles and blades (autoclaving/dry heat and shredding), Blue Container: Glassware and metallic implants. Improper segregation can invite penalties, yet enforcement remains uneven.
More than 15 per cent of daily medical waste is categorized as highly infectious, directly linked to AMR and environmental contamination. Blood-soaked cotton and bandages, laboratory cultures, needles, scalpels, broken glass vials, expired antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs, IV sets, catheters and vaccine vials form the bulk of this hazardous stream.
“Medical waste mismanagement is not just an environmental issue — it is a public health emergency,” said Dr Girish Tyagi, President of the Delhi Medical Association. “Weak implementation and gaps in monitoring are worsening the AMR crisis.”
Adding to the problem is household medical waste. Expired medicines are often thrown in regular garbage or flushed into drains, allowing antibiotic residues to seep into soil and water systems. Pharmaceutical waste from factories and pharmacies, if not treated properly, further compounds the crisis.
Antibiotic residues in water bodies enable bacteria to mutate and grow stronger. The result: life-saving drugs lose effectiveness. Common infections become harder to treat. Hospital stays lengthen. Mortality risks rise.
While the CBWTF model was introduced to ensure scientific disposal instead of each hospital setting up its own treatment plant, experts argue that capacity gaps, monitoring lapses and weak accountability have undermined the system.
The crisis demands urgent corrective action — stricter enforcement, real-time tracking of waste movement, public awareness on disposal of expired medicines, and stronger penalties for violators.
Because if the current trajectory continues, India’s bio-medical waste problem will not just pollute rivers — it will erode the very foundation of modern medicine.
(Images Credit: CANVA)
