Healthcare waste management is gaining importance in India with many hospitals starting to study approaches to proper waste management, according to Frost & Sullivan.

The research firm said a hospital in India generates around 0.5 to 2 kg of waste per bed per day, comprising of general waste (70-80 percent), infectious waste (15-20 percent), pathological waste (5-10 percent) and chemical and sharp waste (0.5 to 1 percent). The registered healthcare facilities generate approximately 4,057 tons of waste per day, but 28 percent goes untreated on daily basis.

The country as a whole generates approximately 1.48 million tons of healthcare waste per year, according to statistics from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

"We lack a robust system to monitor and treat all the medical waste," said Anurag Dubey, Industry Manager-Healthcare Practice. "Though we are equipped with the required expertise related to thermal and mechanical technologies of waste treatment, there is a need to understand the exact numbers of equipment required and also address the industry's geographical skewedness."

Frost & Sullivan said waste management cycle involves collection, segregation, transportation, treatment and disposal of organic, recyclable and inert waste. These wastes can be used for land filling, incineration, recycling and composting. But waste management in India commonly means dumping at landfill sites. In most cities, outsourced private agencies and municipalities do the waste collection.

Some restraints faced by the sector are insufficient focus on policies and procedures by government facilities and little regard for stringent and mandatory laws at state, district and city levels. Lack of a proper waste collection and transportation system, common biomedical waste treatment facilities add to the pressures.

Frost & Sullivan recommends a highly effective healthcare waste management system wherein strong control and understanding of the entire process is required.

"The segregation step in the waste management process would bring in various financial, health and environmental benefits, while its proper understanding could lead industry's contribution towards a desired 'Green World'," it said.