Hospitals seek ways to solve problem of waste management
Hospitals seek ways to solve problem of waste management
JAKARTA (JP): Hospitals throughout the city are seeking to
solve the problem of waste management by setting-up a collective
waste treatment plant.
In an interview with The Jakarta Post late last week, the head
of the municipal health office Dr. Soeharto Wiryowidagdo revealed
that the Metropolitan Jakarta Association of Hospitals (IRSJAM)
has proposed a combined solution to deal with the safe
elimination of hospital waste.
"They recently asked the government to look into the matter by
setting up a joint treatment plant where the hospitals could
deposit their waste," he said.
According to Soeharto the hospitals have strong awareness of
the issue and would like to tackle the problem themselves,
unfortunately financial constraints prevent them from providing
the necessary solutions.
"The technology available is not cheap," he claimed.
The municipal administration last year gave hospitals till
October to provide a waste treatment plan to deal with the
hazardous waste produced by the various chemical product they
use.
The deadline was given as part of the Clean River Program
(Prokasih), which is trying to address Jakarta's polluted
waterways.
Hospitals such as the state-owned Cipto Mangunkusumo general
hospital in Central Jakarta, the privately owned St. Carolus
hospital on Jl. Salemba Raya, Central Jakarta and the army-owned
Gatot Subroto hospital have been identified as major medical-
waste producers.
Soeharto explained that in response to IRSJAM's proposal the
government has called for the participation of the private
sector.
"The government doesn't have the money to deal with it
themselves," Soeharto said.
He further revealed that the project is currently undergoing a
feasibility study by a private company headed by Mrs. Ummi
Lengkong.
October deadline
If the study produces favorable results then the government
will most likely support it by requiring hospitals to discard of
waste by such means.
Soeharto also said that the October deadline might be extended
should hospitals show a concerted effort to adopt a collective
solution based on the study.
The government would certainly not turn a blind eye to the
efforts taken, he said.
Soeharto said the exact amount of money needed for this
project could only be determined after the study is complete.
At present most hospitals do not have waste treatment plants
and discard the waste in a number of traditional ways that
pollute the environment, such as dumping it into the rivers.
However he pointed out that some hospitals have obtained
incinerators to help alleviate the problem.
Hospitals such as Cipto Mangunkusumo and St. Carolus have
incinerators while the Pertamina hospital in Kebayoran Baru,
South Jakarta, is one of the few that has its own waste treatment
plant.
Other hospitals such as the Polri hospital in Kramat Jati,
East Jakarta, have recently been given Rp 700 million
(US$324,825) by Chief of Police Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro to
cope with the waste problem.(mds)