Aafrin Kidwai 
Pune’s bio-medical waste (BMW) is being sent to Mumbai for incineration ever since the city’s sole BMW incinerator broke down last month.
Its repairs, the plant operator said, are set to take another 15 days. Until then, Covid-19 waste from Pune and its outskirts — including masks, gloves and other PPE items — will continue to be transported inside closed vehicles to a common biomedical waste treatment facility in Taloja, Mumbai, for incineration.
The city’s daily generation of Covid-linked biomedical waste has already hit 5,000kg. Another 3,000kg of daily non-Covid biomedical waste is currently being transported to a facility in Baramati, according to The Times of India.
The Pune incinerator reportedly broke down under strain from Covid-19 waste, which is high on plastic materials. “The massive strain of burning Covid-19 biomedical waste, which comprises a large amount of plastic, eroded the rubber inside the plant’s chimney. That caused it to break down. We have to now dismantle the chimney and replace it with a new one,” he informed TOI.
