BIO-MEDICAL WASTES (MANAGEMENT AND HANDLING) RULES, 1998

Medical waste generally refers to the waste which is generated in the diagnosis, treatment or immunisation of
Humans or Animals.

Generated from the sources like Hospitals, Dispensaries, medical shops, Medical clinics of doctors and other
paramedical staff.

It is estimated that about one and half KG of waste is produced per head/per day of the total hospital waste,
which is contaminated with disease carry pathogens.

It is in the above background that the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) notified the Bio-medical
Waste Management and Handling rules in 1998.

Effects of Improper handling of Bio-medical waste on environment and health:

1. Impact on Air, Water and land.

2. Pathogen present in the Air may enter the open atmosphere and find their way to drinking water, food
stuff, soil etc., or remain in the ambient air and cause diseases in the animals and human beings.
3. Open Burning and adoption of poor technology for treating bio-medical waste also contributes in causing
outdoor air pollution.
4. Dumping untreated bio-medical waste in low lying areas or into lakes and waterbodies can cause severe
surface and ground water pollution.
5. Open dumping, poor landfilling method adopted etc. results in contamination of land due to bio-medical
wastes.

Bio-Medical Waste Rules, 1998:

The rules provides list of categories of bio-medical which is as follows:

1. Human anatomical wastes (human tissues, organs, body parts)

2. Animal Wastes (animal tissues, organs, body parts, bleeding parts, fluid, blood and experimental animal
used in research, waste generated by veterinary hospitals, colleges, discharge from hospitals, houses)
3. Microbiology and Biotechnology wastes (waste from laboratory culture, stocks or specimens of micro-
organisms live or attenuated vaccines, human and animal cell culture used in research and infectious
agents from the research and industrial laboratories, wastes from production of biological, toxins, dishes
and devices and transfer of culture.
4. Waste Sharps ( needles, syringes, scalpels, blades, glass, etc. that may cause puncture and cuts. This
includes both used and unused sharps)
5. Disordered medicines and Cytotoxix drugs (waste comprising of outdated, contaminated and discarded
medicine)
6. Soiled Waste (items contaminated with blood and body fluids including cotton, dressings, soiled plaster
casts, linens, bedding, other material contaminated with blood)
7. Solid Waste (waste generated from disposable items other than the waste sharps such as tubing catheters,
intravenous sets etc.
8. Liquid wastes ( generated from laboratory and washing, cleaning, house keeping and disinfecting
activities)
9. Incineration Ash (Ash from incineration of any biomedical waste)
10. Chemical waste ( used in production biological, chemicals used in disinfecting as insecticides, etc)

Under the Rules the occupier of an institution that is the person who is in control over the medical
institutions like Hospital, nursing home, clinic, dispensary, veterinary institution, animal house, pathological
lab., blood bank etc is made responsible for taking every steps to ensure the safe handling of the bio-medical
wastes.
Duties and responsibilities which the occupier and operator of a bio-medical waste facility has to undertake
under the rules are as below:

1. Every occupier, where required, shall set up in accordance with the time frame given under the rules
treatment of waste, or, should ensure requisite treatment of waste at a common waste treatment facility
or any other waste treatment facility.
2. The occupier as well as the operator of a facility while carrying out the process of the segregation,
packaging, transportation and storage of bio-medical wastes should follow following guidelines provided
under the Rules.

a. Bio-medical waste shall not be mixed with other wastes.

b. Bio-medical waste shall be segregated into containers/bags at the point of generation in accordance with
the prescribed rules prior to its storage, transportation, treatment and disposal.
c. The containers carrying bio-medical wastes shall be labelled properly as prescribed by the Rules.
d. Untreated bio-medical wastes shall be transported in the vehicles designed according to the Rules
irrespective of the provisions contained in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
e. Untreated bio-medical waste shall not be kept stored a period of 48 hours.

3. Every occupier of an institution generating, collecting, receiving, storing, transporting, treating,

disposing, and/ or handling bio-medical waste in any other manner, except such occupier of clinics,
dispensaries, pathological lab., blood banks providing treatment/service to less than 1000 patients per month,
shall take authorisation from the prescribed authority before undertaking any of the above mentioned
activities.

4. Every operator shall take authorisation from the prescribed authority under the rules before running any
such facility.

5. Every Operator shall submit an annual report to the prescribed authority and maintain records relating to
the generation, collection, reception, storage, transportation, treatment, disposal and/or any form of handling
of bio-medical waste.

6. Occupier/Operator shall report to the prescribed authority under the rules if any accident takes place while
handling or during the transportation of bio-medical wastes.

SCHEDULE TO THE RULES - FOUR COLOUR SCHEME - for segregation of wastes and prescribes the
method of disposing different types of bio-medical wastes in different coloured packages.

COLOUR CODE WASTE CATEGORY TREATMENT AS PER RULES

Yellow Human Anatomical waste, Incineration/Deep burial

Microbiology and biotech waste and
Solid waste

Red Microbiology and Biotechnology Autoclaving/ Micro waving,

waste, Soiled waste, Solid waste Chemical treatment

Blue White Translucent Waste Sharp, Solid waste, Plastics Autoclaving/Microwaving

etc.

Black Discarded medicine, cytotoxic drugs, Disposed in secured landfills

Incinerator Ash and Chemical waste
BATTERIES (MANAGEMENT AND HANDLING) RULES, 2001

Some of the ill effects of lead poisoning are tiredness, lassitude, slight abdominal discomfort, irritability,
increase in blood pressure, anaemia and behavioural changes in children.

In India, MOEF notified rules, entitled “Batteries Rules 2001”, to control the hazards associated with
backyard smelting and unauthorised reprocessing of lead acid batteries.
The rules ensures proper collection and recycling of used lead acid batteries and its parts in the country. It
ensures that the used lead acid batteries were to be collected and processed by actual manufacturers or
recyclers who are registered with the ministry. This act will result in substantial reduction in the supply of
the lead scrap and used batteries to backyard smelters.

Rules direct the Battery manufacturers and the registered recyclers to set up collection centres for the used
batteries.

Dealers have been made responsible for the collection and handling over of batteries to the designated
collection centres and registered recyclers.

Dealers should collect 50% of the new batteries sold by the end of the first year and 90% of the new
batteries by the end of the third year of implementation of the Rules.

Manufacturers/Assemblers/Re-conditioners/importers/auctioneers/user consumers should furnish half early

returns to the State Pollution Control Board by May 31 and November 30 every year in the prescribed
format.

Only those re-processors registered with the MOEF would be able to participate in sale by auction or
contract.

The idea is to channelise the used lead acid batteries to units which adopt environmentally sound
technology for recovering lead from the wastes.
RECYCLED PLASTIC(MANAGEMENT AND USAGE) RULES, 1999

The hazards of plastics in India are increasing mainly because of the throw away atticudes cultivated in
Indians. Plastic affects both the health and environment in several ways as follows.
• Choke the drains and sewage treatment plants
• Prevent natural recharge of underground water and depleting ground water capacity
• Ingestion of plastic bags into Animals
• Release of toxins to environment
• Death of Marine life

Restrictions on virgin and recycled plastic carry bags and containers under the rule

No person shall manufacture, stock, distribute or sell carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic bags
which are less than 8x12 inches in size and which do not confirm to the minimum thickness specified in
rule 8.
No vendor shall use carry bags made of recycled plastic for storing, carrying, dispensing or packageng of
foodstuffs.
No vendor shall use containers made of recycled plastics for storing, carrying, dispensing or packaging of
foodstuffs.
DEFINITIONS UNDER RULES

1. The term ‘Foodstuffs’ means ready to eat food products, fast food, processed and cooked food in liquid,
powder, solid or semi-solid form.
2. ‘Vendor’ means person who sells foodstuffs as defined above packaged and stored in plastic carry bags
and containers.
3. ‘Carry bags’ means plastic bags which have a self carrying feature commonly known as vest type bags
or any other feature used to carry commodities such as “D” punched bags.
4. ‘Commodities’ includes articles such as vegetables, fruits, pharmaceuticals and the like.
5. ‘Container’ means flexible or rigid containers made of virgin plastics or recycled plastics with or without
lid used to store, carry or dispense commodities.
6. ‘Registration’ means registration of units manufacturing carry-bags and containers made of virgin or
recycled plastics with the concerned State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee as
the case may be