GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 10 Nov) – The provincial government of South Cotabato is planning to establish a treatment facility for various wastes generated by local government-managed and supported hospitals in the area.
Siegfred Flaviano, acting head of the South Cotabato Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO), said they have launched a comprehensive study on various waste treatment and management systems for possible adoption in the area.
The official said they have designated the technical working group (TWG) of the Provincial Integrated Environment Management Center (PIEMC) to spearhead the study.
He said the TWG, which is composed of personnel from PEMO, Provincial Engineering Office and Integrated Provincial Health Office, initially conducted benchmarking activities last week in various hospitals and laboratories based in this city and Davao City.
The team was led by PEMO’s mines and geosciences division head Nencita Acain and environment management division in-charge Agnes Castanares.
“The activity was mainly aimed to capacitate us regarding the best practices on hospital waste management,” Flaviano said.
The TWG’s first stop was the General Santos City Doctors Hospital (GSCDH), which has been adjudged as the cleanest hospital in the city in the last two years.
A report released by the provincial government said GSCDH mainly showcased during the visit its best practices on solid waste management, specifically on the collection, segregation, disposal and treatment of hospital wastes.
The hospital has adopted vermi-composting and has its own autoclave to treat infectious and hazardous hospital wastes.
In Davao City, the TWG visited San Pedro Hospital, Davao Medical School Foundation, Inc. and UM Multi-Test Diagnostics Center.
The three facilities have adopted similar waste management systems that were developed by RAD Green Solutions, a hospital wastes treatment company accredited with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau.
RAD Green Solutions personnel toured the TWG to their hospital wastes treatment facility in Barangay Carmen, which is also the site of the sanitary landfill of Davao City.
The team was briefed on the operations of the company’s pyro-clave facility and conducted an actual demonstration of hospital wastes treatment.
RAD’s two-unit pyro-clave costs around P5 million each and could treat about 1,600 kilograms of hospital wastes per day. The facility operates for at least 10 hours daily.
The company charges their client hospitals and laboratories P25 to P35 per kilogram, depending on the type of waste.
Flaviano said they are targeting to establish the province’s hospital waste treatment facility by next year in Barangay Tinongcop in Tantangan town.
He said the facility will be set up within the five-hectare property recently acquired by the provincial government for the site of the PIEMC.
The provincial government runs the South Cotabato provincial hospitals in Koronadal City and supports the operations of the municipal and district hospitals in Lake Sebu, Norala and Polomolok towns.
