MANILA, Philippines —The Philippines does not have enough treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities to handle the healthcare wastes so far generated amid the country’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Monday.
DENR-Environmental Management Bureau Assistant Director Visminda Osorio said as of June 30, 2021, the total generated healthcare waste in the country has reached 634,000,687.73 metric tons.
“There is lacking of—our TSD facilities are not enough to cater the health care waste generated nationwide because at this time, there are only TSDs located within in Region 3, Region 4-A, NCR, Regions 1, 5, 7, 8, and 10 that has the capability to treat the healthcare wastes generated in the country,” Osorio said.
“Right now, what we are doing is those healthcare waste facilities are advised to do the initial disinfection prior to disposal, and part of the regions that has no TSD facility, they do it through safe burial or concrete vaulting within the premises,” she added.
The Department of Health (DOH) earlier warned sanctions against medical facilities that are not following protocols on proper disposal of healthcare wastes.
The DOH said healthcare wastes should be sealed inside a bag before being disposed in designated areas approved by the DENR.