WUHAN is now disposing of all medical waste in a timely fashion and has not posed any threat to the environment, a senior official said yesterday.

Zhao Qunying, director of the emergency management office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told a news conference in Beijing that by Monday the city’s disposal capacity of medical waste had jumped from 50 to 264 metric tons per day.

“All the medical waste can be disposed of on the day of creation,” he said.

Wuhan was able to handle more than 40 tons of medical waste before the epidemic outbreak. But after the novel coronavirus hit the city, medical waste produced peaked at more than 240 tons a day.

In order to dispose of medical waste promptly and avoid waste pileup , the ministry has requisitioned and transported 46 sets of mobilized disposal facilities to Wuhan.

According to Wuhan’s pollution prevention management center for radiation and solid hazardous waste, disposal facilities with a designed capacity of 24 tons a day have been set up in the city’s two makeshift hospitals Huoshenshan and Leishenshan.

Two domestic waste incineration enterprises were called up Feb. 19 to treat medical waste in accordance with relevant standards, with 120 tons of medical waste incinerated on a daily basis.

The city also raced against time to build an emergency disposal center of medical waste, which began its pilot run Feb. 22 with a daily capacity of 30 tons in full-load operation.

A mobile incinerator was deployed to Wuchang Hongshan Stadium, which was among the first three public venues to be converted into a temporary hospital and is now closed.

The medical waste mainly consisted of articles used by patients and medics, including tableware, domestic garbage, masks and protective clothing. Bedding, beds and other items will also be destroyed after patients are discharged from the hospitals.

(China Daily, Xinhua)