Hospital incinerators in the central region will be shut down within two months, bringing an end to air pollution and improper handling of medical waste in the country, officials said on Wednesday.
The incinerators will be closed when the central medical waste incinerator in the Ghabawi Landfill in Zarqa Governorate starts operations between April and May with an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes, Mohammad Khashashneh, director of the environment ministry’s hazardous substances and waste management directorate, said yesterday.
“The central region, which comprises the Amman, Zarqa, Balqa and Madaba governorates, produces up to 70 per cent of the clinical waste generated in Jordan. The central incinerator will regulate the country’s management of medical waste,” he told The Jordan Times yesterday.
The central incinerator is part of a larger project that entails the construction of an industrial waste treatment plant in the Swaqa Landfill, located 160 kilometres to the south of the capital.
“With the construction of this incinerator, there will be no more excuses for dumping or handling medical waste as domestic waste,” Khashashneh underscored.
Established on a 30-year build-own-operate-transfer basis, the incinerator was built by an international consortium led by Jordan’s Nasser Investment Group Holding.
“The company will secure specially equipped trucks for collecting medical waste from hospitals in the central region. All hospitals and health centres are required to collect and package their medical waste in accordance with our regulations before the company collects the waste,” the environment official noted.
Al Bashir Public Hospital, which incinerates an average of three tonnes of medical waste daily, welcomed the step.
“The hospital produces around 800 kilogrammes of medical waste daily and burns up to three tonnes of waste from Madaba, Zarqa and Tutanji hospitals in its incinerator. This will rid the hospital of a great burden,” a source from Al Bashir Public Hospital’s public relations department told The Jordan Times yesterday.
Ghabawi’s central incinerator will not only solve the problem of burning medical waste, but also cut down air pollution in Ashrafiyeh in east Amman.
“The incinerator causes air pollution in the area, which is heavily populated, and emits foul odours despite the presence of filters… hopefully air quality will improve,” the source noted.
Meanwhile, the industrial waste treatment plant, which will be established with an annual capacity of 15,000 tonnes, will be operational after 18 months, according to Khashashneh.
As the country generates up to 12,000 tonnes of industrial waste annually, the construction of such a facility has become an urgent priority, especially since industrial waste is expected to increase to 20,000 tonnes in less than five years and 30,000 tonnes in 15 years, according to the ministry.
The Ghabawi Landfill, which is situated some 25 kilometres east of Amman, was established in 2003 at a cost of JD16 million to handle 2,500 tonnes of waste per day. The 3,000sq.m landfill serves Amman and the central region.
By Hana Namrouqa
Jordan Times