How is Biohazardous COVID-19 Waste Being Handled in Belize?
The coronavirus pandemic is bringing pressure to bear on many aspects of the health system and as the virus continues to spread so does its impact on healthcare. One area that has not received attention is the disposal of COVID-related waste. In Belize City, waste from persons who have tested positive, collected from the hospitals, hotels or private homes, ends up at the transfer station just outside of the city. It is collected by the Belize Waste Control and separated at the transfer station by pickers. Throughout the process, there can be risks to sanitation workers, as well as impacts to the environment. News Five’s Isani Cayetano looks at the process.
George Lamb, Manager, Belize Waste Control
“We need to be aware of what is happening as service providers and we need to act with responsibility to safeguard the waste coming from those sites.”
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Disposal of harmful agents found in waste material from persons diagnosed with COVID-19 is a public health concern that continues to go by without much discussion. Since the beginning of the phased repatriation process back in mid-April, little has been said about the procedures that are in place for the safe removal of biohazardous litter from quarantine centres and medical facilities. Sounding the alarm on this very important issue is Belize Waste Control Limited. They are solely responsible for the collection and management of garbage in Belize City.
George Lamb
George Lamb
“There’s no clear waste stream, no clear process of disposing of the waste. I inquired [and] I was told that the waste ends up with the red bags at the K.H.M.H. Now because COVID, it is a serious thing in Belize and it’s getting out of control. It gives rise for controlled disposal [which] is important. What should happen to these biohazards, as we would call them, is incineration. We cannot introduce it into the regular waste stream.”
There is a chance, nonetheless, that it already has, since refuse from places such as the Princess Hotel is not separated before being collected by the sanitation company. George Lamb is the manager at Belize Waste Control. He was also repatriated to back to the country from the United States a little over a month ago.
George Lamb
“We were quarantined at the Princess Hotel. Upon arriving at the Princess, I observed very early that there were two different dumpsters, so I was excited because I felt that we had a handle on this thing and one was for COVID, in my opinion, and the other was for domestic waste generated by the hotel activity.”
…but that was not the case.
George Lamb
“I checked with my office to see if we are in fact disposing of COVID waste, no such thing was occurring. So I inquired with the health department and they assured me that the matter would be addressed, no response up to this date. Not that I am beating up on the health department. I have a responsibility as a citizen and also as a waste manager to ensure that we handle the waste in a manner that would safeguard the health of our populace.”
On Waste Control’s compound just outside of Belize City, there is a state-of-the-art incinerator that is used to destroy garbage coming from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
George Lamb
“We know people came in on our flights that were positive but where their waste ended up, I cannot say up until now and I know that we have the only incinerator working in the city. So there’s a possibility that we might be incinerating those wastes and we don’t know and if that’s the case now, we have to put some safeguards to protect my employees and to protect our office.”
These bags, as described by Lamb, are color-coded to indicate that their contents are biohazardous. The lack of a similar distinction from the respective quarantine centers gives rise to exposure of sanitation workers.
George Lamb
“[It’s] kinda scary for me because I did not know that we were handling COVID waste matters. I felt that as a manager, I should have known so I could have put in the necessary barriers and protective safety measures to protect my employees and also protect myself. And so now, we are frantically moving in that direction to ensure practices, safe practices, the protective gears, and now we need the disposable ones because we don’t know how contamination occurs.”
At the regional transfer station nearby, a team of pickers manually separates all the incoming trash. It’s quite a dirty job, in the literal sense, one that directly exposes these men and woman to the dangers of the dreaded disease.
George Lamb
“What happens with regular, domestic garbage in Belize City is that it goes to a transfer station and we would sort through the garbage. We would open them up and see if we have retrievable, we can retrieve stuff that can be used for secondary uses or other purposes to reduce the dumpsite usage. That is happening right now, so if somebody develops COVID at home we service providers, we are one component of this whole thing that need to know what is happening so we can safeguard and, you know…”
Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
