Hospitals to receive modern infectious waste incinerators

Colombo, Sept. 3 (Daily Mirror) - The Ministry of Health has announced that state-of-the-art infectious waste incinerators will be established at 15 government hospitals across Sri Lanka under the Infectious Waste Management Improvement Project, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The project, supported through a financial grant of 503 million yen from the Japanese government and its citizens, aims to strengthen medical waste management and ensure safer disposal practices.

According to the Ministry, incinerators have already been installed at Trincomalee District General Hospital, the teaching hospitals of Ratnapura and Kurunegala, the district hospitals in Embilipitiya, Avissawella, Hambantota, Mannar, and Kilinochchi, as well as the base hospitals in Rikillagaskada, Mahiyanganaya, Puttalam, Meerigama, Medirigiriya, and Welikanda, and the divisional hospital in Nakulugamuwa.

The incinerator at Trincomalee District General Hospital, one of the largest under the project, is capable of burning up to 162 kilograms of infectious waste per hour. In total, the project has introduced five high-capacity machines of this scale and ten smaller units, each capable of incinerating 58 kilograms per hour. The Ministry noted that each unit has been tailored to meet the specific requirements of its respective hospital.