Jakarta Records 12,785 Tons of Medical Waste During Pandemic

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Environment Department recorded a high number of medical wastes in the capital city during the Covid-19 pandemic, amounting to 12,785 tons in total.

The head of the Jakarta Environment Department, Yogi Ikhwan, said Thursday, Jan. 28, that 1,538 kg were household medical wastes, 6,391,881 kg were collected from healthcare facilities, 1,227,574 kg were from Covid-19 hospitals, and another 1,227,574 kg were from non-Covid referral hospitals.

"In total, the number reached 12,785,299 kg or more than 12,785 tons, which is recorded since the pandemic hit in April 2020 until January 17, 2021," Yogi said.

Since the early period of the pandemic, Jakarta has been managing the domestic infectious wastes, aiming to avoid the potential of Covid-19 transmission.

His office, Yogi explained, also works with hazardous waste organizers to help sort and destroy the waste from household products such as used masks. But he hoped that the public would want to start sorting their own waste, especially during this time.

Meanwhile, medical wastes collected from healthcare facilities in Jakarta are the responsibility of the management. Yet his side acts to supervise the disposal process of the infectious waste.

Jakarta Health Department head Widyastuti said the infectious medical waste is not only produced during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is important for hospitals to manage it well.

Read: Jakarta Handles More than 1,000 kg Face Mask Waste Since April

Antara