Malang Overwhelmed by Medical Waste
Friday, 03 July, 2009 | 13:26 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Malang: The Malang Regional Health Office is confused about managing medical waste from hospitals and polyclinics like I.V bottles, needles, and other liquid waste.

Apparently eight private hospitals and around 30 polyclinics have not installed a system to manage liquid and solid wastes (IPAL).

Medical waste is categorized as dangerous and poison substances.

So far, only the Kanjuruhan regional hospital owns the incinerator and IPAL. It eradicates around 1,000 I.V bottles everyday.

“Its capacity is only sufficient for the waste of Kanjuruhan hospital,” said the office’s head, Agus Wahyu Arifin, on Thursday (2/7).

Waste from 39 health community centers are eradicated manually.

The private hospitals are now worried as they found some people from Syaiful Anwar hospital selling medical wastes like I.V bottle.

They do not want be charged with carrying out criminal actions.

Meanwhile, Malang Head for the Environment Office, Subandiyah Aziz, said that there was no new regulation yet about medical waste management.

The previous regulation says that waste was the central government's responsibility.

But now this has been changed to under regional governments.

“Medical waste cannot be thrown carelessly as it is poisonous and dangerous,” he said.

It can spread diseases like HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C.

EKO WIDIANTO