Sound management of hazardous wastes from health care and from agriculture

Abstract

WHO's global policy for sound health care wastes management (‎HCWM)‎ and the activities of FAO's Programme on the Prevention and Disposal of Obsolete Pesticide Programme were presented and discussed. Poor management systems are behind the build-up of hazardous wastes in the agricultural and health sectors: poor data, low enforcement of already outdated legislation, porosity of national borders, scarce quality control and lack of coordination among concerned authorities. The inadequacy between demand and supply - notably in the case of large imports of pesticides and of drug donations - are the origin of the unnecessary build-up of obsolete chemical stocks. Medical wastes in most countries of the Region are often ill-managed. More capacity building and awareness need to be implemented in a big way. Accumulated pharmaceutical wastes from post-tsunami donations created huge challenges in Indonesia: illegal sale and consumption of substandard drugs stocks by unwary patients and potential environmental pollution from either leakage or unmonitored destruction. Obsolete pesticide stockpiles pose serious threats to health and the environment. To avoid high removal costs and technically complex operations, countries should prevent the accumulation of obsolete pesticides. Implementing the principles of integrated pest and vector management is the key to achieve this aim. The participants identified priorities for action and elaborated a set of 20 recommendations and called for stronger proactive regional collaboration, making the best use of the existing l human and technical capacities in the Region.