DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW
2020-21

Environmental Law

WASTE MANAGEMENT LAWS IN INDIA: PLASTIC AND BIO-MEDICAL WASTES

SUBMITTED TO: - SUBMITTED BY:-

Dr. Bhanu Pratap Singh Tanurag Ghosh
Asst. Professor of Law Enrolment no.- 180101147
RMLNLU Section B,B.A.LLB. (Hons)-2023
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.............................................................................................................. 3
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ......................................................................................................... 4
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 6
CHAPTERISATION..................................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER ONE: PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT ................................................................ 8
Laws Relating To Plastic Wastes ........................................................................................................... 8
Some Concerns .................................................................................................................................... 10
Banning Single-Use Plastics ................................................................................................................. 10
Informal Recycling Sector ................................................................................................................... 11
Collection And Segregation.................................................................................................................. 12
Recycling ............................................................................................................................................. 12
Financial Constraints........................................................................................................................... 12
Judicial Rulings On Plastic Waste Management .................................................................................. 13
Successful Practices Elsewhere ............................................................................................................ 14
CHAPTER TWO: BIO-MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT What Is Bio-Medical Waste? .........16
Laws Relating To Bio-Medical Waste Management............................................................................. 16
Judicial Decisions On Bio-Medical Waste Management ...................................................................... 17
Some Concerns .................................................................................................................................... 18
Successful Practices Elsewhere ............................................................................................................ 18
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................20
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First, I would like to thank Dr. Bhanu Pratap Singh for giving me this opportunity to make the
project on such an interesting topic and all the support and guidance that I have received from
him without which, this project could not have turned into a reality. I would also like to thank
all my colleagues and seniors for providing me support, and material data related to this
topic. Last but not the least; I would like to thank my parents for providing me appropriate
guidance and support to prepare the project. All the aforementioned people whole-heartedly
helped me to compile this project in the present shape.

-Tanurag Ghosh
 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

ACTS
1. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

RULES
1. Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016.
2. Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.
3. Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.
4. The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1995.

CASES
1. All India Plastic Industries Association v. Govt. of NGT, 2017 SCC OnLine NGT 36
(National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench).
2. B. L. Wadehra v. Union of India, 1996 SCC (2). (Supreme Court of India)
3. Karuna Society for Animals v. Union of India, W.P. (Civil) No. 154 of 2012, July 15, 2016
(Supreme Court of India)
4. Mahesh Dubey v. Chattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, 2016 SCC OnLine NGT
3724. (National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench).
 INTRODUCTION

The protection of environment has been a top priority for the entire world ever since the
Stockholm Environment Conference, in 1972. It was with great zeal that environment was
placed on a pedestal of priority, never before witnessed in human history. Initially, the focus
was relatively on the preservation of the water, air and land around us. However, over recent
years, concerns for some other areas too have gained traction. These include safe disposal of
Plastic waste and Bio-Medical waste.
As population in India is forecasted to experience an unprecedented growth from currently
1.31 billion to 1.65 billion by 2030,1 and plastic industry, owing to its widespread use in
industries like construction, electronics, healthcare, automotives and textiles, is bound to grow
by leaps and bounds with increase in population. With growing population and limited
resources, high incidence of diseases is not common for a country like India. Increase or
stability in life expectancy requires that proper and prompt healthcare is provided. Healthcare
facilities have mushroomed in every nook and cranny of the country to cater to the never-
ending queues of patients. These medical facilities produce all sorts of wastes. These wastes
are clubbed together and referred by an umbrella term- biomedical wastes. Further, principle
of generator’s primary responsibility for environmentally benign disposal of wastes is the single
thread of through that runs through all the waste management regimes.
This is an opportune moment to reflect on the challenge of management presented by plastic
as well as biomedical waste. Both the types of wastes have overlaps to some extent. We need
innovative solutions to address the challenge. There needs to be a development of systematic
waste management system with high rate of implementation in order to stop unsafe and
hazardous methods to dispose plastic and biomedical wastes.
Through this project, the researcher seeks to explore and assess all aspects related to plastic
and biomedical waste management and development of sustainable alternatives these wastes.
Further, she will also touch upon laws and policy initiatives taken in India and elsewhere. This
will be accompanied by an examination of relevant judicial decisions. Efficacy of the same will
be analyzed and concerns regarding the same will be brought out.
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to study the waste management laws especially the ones that deal
with plastic and bio-medical wastes dopted by Indian state as well as successful practices in
other jurisdictions.
The objective of this paper is to suggest a model framework for future policies and suggest
how mistakes in implementation of past policies may be remedied through context specific
application of best practices.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The scope of this project extends to analysing the laws and rules relating to plastic and bio-
medical wastes, its handling rules etc. along with a few cases, looking at performance of few
other countries with regard to plastic and bio-medical wastes and few cases decided upon by
the Supreme Court of India and the National Green Tribunal regarding the same. Since there
are a plethora of policies, cases and laws, some of which have lapsed, the project focuses upon
certain select policies, laws and rules which are currently being implemented or are proposed
to be implemented in the near future.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by plastic and bio-medical wastes? What is the legal framework in India for
disposal of such wastes?
2. What are the points of concern, if any, regarding present laws and their implementation?
3. How have the issues of plastic and bio-medical waste management wastes been handled by
the courts and tribunals?
4. What have been the practices followed by some other countries placed similarly?
 CHAPTERISATION
The project is divided into two substantive chapters, each of which deal with two different
kinds of wastes.
Chapter One looks the common and legal understanding of plastics, what are the laws and
policies in place to deal with handling and disposal of plastic waste, concerns regarding
implementation of existing policies as well as the laws and policies themselves, judicial
approach to such problems before concluding with the practices at policy making level as well
as implementation level followed elsewhere in the world and suggestions for India. Similarly,
Chapter Two deals with the healthcare waste and its management.
 CHAPTER ONE: PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

A wide range of synthetic or semi synthetic polymerisation products are commonly known as
plastics. Plastics can be categorized into two. One is recyclable plastics as known as thermosetting
plastics. These include PET, HDPE, LDPE, PP, PVC, PS etc. Other is non- recyclable plastics as
known as thermoset plastics. These consist of multilayer and laminated plastics, PUF, Bakelite,
Melamine, Polycarbonate, Nylon among others. Non-recyclable plastics present harder challenge
of disposal for the authorities to surmount.
The table1 below describes some popular plastics
and their applications:
Plastic Application
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) Cables, plumbing pipes
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Water and soft drink bottles, food jar
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) Shampoo bottles, packaging
Nylon Fishing nets, ropes and clothing
Polypropylene (PP) Bottle caps, medicine bottles, chips packs
Polystyrene (PS) Food packaging, electronic goods, and defence
gadgets
Polycarbonate (PC) Food packaging, electronic goods, and defence
gadgets
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) Grocery bags, packaging

Laws Relating To Plastic Wastes

For addressing the problem of ever-increasing proportions of plastic waste production and in
order to ensure that it gets managed properly and scientifically, the union government came up
with Plastic Waste Management Rules in 2011 under the Environment Protection Act of 1986.
These rules replaced the earlier Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999 that were
amended in 2003.

These rules remedied the problem of quality of carry bags by providing floor standards for
thickness and requiring the retailers to charge fee for each plastic bag utilized by the customers.
Salient features of these rules include ban on plastics in sachets for storing, packing or selling
tobacco, pan masala and gutkha,3 no food to be allowed in packets of

1
The Energy and Resources Institute, Challenges and Opportunities: Plastic Waste Management in India,
(2018), available at http://www.teriin.org/research-paper/discussion-paper-challenges-and-opportunities-plastic-
waste-management-india
recycled plastics or compostable plastics,4 specific BIS standards for recycled carry bags, colour
as per BIS prescription,6 uniform thickness of plastic carry bags to be 40 microns and above. The
framework created through these rules proposed assignment of responsibilities for management
of plastic waste on the urban local bodies (ULBs). Moreover, a monitoring committee called
“State Level Advisory Body” was to set up at state level to oversee the functioning of ULBs in
this respect.
The rules of 2011 were succeeded by another set of rules known as the Plastic Waste
Management Rules of 2016. These rules are way more comprehensive and seek to effectively
address the concerns of plastic waste. These rules extend the focus of waste management to
rural areas by imposing responsibility on gram panchayats to create awareness, ensure that no
open burning of plastic takes place, and ensuring segregation and channelization of such waste.
Apart from increasing thickness of plastic bags to fifty microns or more, the legislature has
made more fundamental changes in 2016 rules. It realised that journey towards waste free India
is long and manufacturers of plastics should also bear some amount of responsibility for the
plastics they use. Principle of Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) has been realised in
asking producers, importers and brand owners of plastic products (generators of waste in India)
to coordinate with ULBs to pay a fee to strengthen financial status of local bodies in fighting
the challenge.2
Moreover, 2016 rules made forward strides on the issue of setting up material recovery
facilities. These are the facilities where non-compostable solid waste is temporarily stored to
facilitate segregation and recovery of recyclables by the informal sector before waste is taken
up for processing. Rules mandate ULBs to set-up these facilities for sorted dry waste
processing. However, space constraints have thwarted implementation in several areas. It has
not been made clear as to whose responsibility it would be to provide space for these facilities.
However, District Magistrates, who are required to assist SPCBs in implantation of the Rules, 3
can be said to be responsible to identify the sites within their jurisdiction.
Recently, the 2016 rules were further amended in 2018. Three major changes inter alia have
been incorporated in these rules. Firstly, the rules notify that under Section 9(3), the term
„non-recyclable multilayered plastic‟ has been substituted by „multilayered plastic which is
non-recyclable or non-energy recoverable or with no alternate use‟. Secondly, Section 15
dealing with the pricing of carry bags has been omitted. The rule earlier required vendors, who
made plastic bags available, to register with the respective urban local body and pay a

2
Rule 8 (3), Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.
3
Rule 12 (3), Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.
 fee of Rs. 48,000 annually. Thirdly, the new rules attempt to establish a centralized registration
system by mandating brand owners and producers operating in more than two states to register
with the CPCB.

Some Concerns
Recent changes to waste management laws are indicative of efforts of the legislature to
streamline the entire process of management and handling of wastes, instead of stop-gap
mechanisms. Focus is on an integrated approach towards handling of plastics that involves
industry persons apart from local bodies in this effort as the legislature is well aware that there
needs to be a perspective shift if plastic menace is to be mitigated. However, some concerns
persist even at the level of law making.
The idea of EPR introduced by 2016 rules is welcome but lacks detail, and is a paper tiger. The
EPR for plastic waste management would require similar detailing to that provided by the
elaborate „Implementation Guidelines for E-waste‟ relating to e-waste. In order for EPR to
effective, real-time assessment and mapping of demand and supply of waste that is state- wise
is needed for the authorities to get realistic EPR targets and hold the producers accountable.
Lack of awareness, absence of proper mechanisms of sorting and shortage of scientific landfills
leads to plastic waste being dumped into local dump yards along with other solid waste which
presents a formidable challenge. Therein plastic degrades into its smaller constituents and
leaches into the soil and groundwater table, thereby making its way to the food chain. Toxic
released from plastic contaminates soil quality and affects local vegetation. Further, burning of
plastic waste in open air releases noxious gases that contaminate air. It also affects marine
environment wherein the major hazard to marine life is in form of ingestion and entanglement.

Banning Single-Use Plastics

Governments often see complete ban on plastics as an effective way to tackle the issue. 4
However, India specific studies point the other way. Results of a study conducted by the Delhi
School of Economics on „Consumer Responses to Incentives to Reduce Plastic Bag Use‟ notes
that blanket ban may not be the best way forward in developing countries. First, for the ban
to be effective, it should be enforced with credible information about the penalties

4
See https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Total-plastic-ban-in-
Karnataka/articleshow/51397198.cms
 both for shop owners and consumers. However, this is often not the case although imposing
penalties on offenders (consumers or retailers) is vital for sending a signal to the users about
the costs of violation. Secondly, a complete ban may not be the best possible solution under
weak institutional enforcement. Hence, combination of standards and right incentives,
depending on the kind of retail activity, is proposed to bring down the use of plastic bags.
Thirdly, information highlighting the environmental impacts of plastic bag usage can influence
consumer behaviour significantly. Instead, low cost interventions can change consumer
attitudes towards reusable bags. Fourthly, subsidies either in cash or in kind.
When single use plastic bags were banned in Austin, USA, authorities misjudged consumers‟
psychology. Residents started treating reusable bags like single use bags. Not only was there
was almost no change in overall quantity of plastic bag waste, but larger carbon footprint
associated with reusable bags meant an overall increase in resources consumed for their
production. There is no guarantee that a positive environmental outcome will result from
reducing the use of something that‟s harmful to the environment. Therefore, no blanket
measure can work without proper awareness.

Informal Recycling Sector

Refusal to recognise the informal recycling sector from government policy initiatives
compounds the problem. Across most of the major cities in India, there exists a thriving trade
of scrap material and its recycling. The process begins with waste pickers at dumping sites who
collect plastics and sell them to aggregators. From these aggregators, scrap plastic makes its
way to different recycling units. These units engage in cleaning, sorting (by colour and type)
and grinding (converting plastic articles into smaller pieces). At the very top of this recycling
chain are pellet-making units. These pellets are used to make new plastic items: sheets, dustbin
liners, pens, carpets and fibers for clothing, as well as plastic ropes and pipes used in
agricultural operations.5 Most of the workers employed at these units are old women who sort
plastic sheets by hand. Any decision to ban single-use plastics ignores these people from the
grand narrative and hence, evokes resentment amongst the people working in the recycling
trade.

5
A. Nagarajan, Maharashtra’s War on Plastic: Toll on Mumbai’s Recycling Industry, 53(24) ECONOMIC
AND POLITICAL WEEKLY 10, 12 (2018).
Collection And Segregation
Separation of waste at source along with collection and transportation of segregated waste have
often been a cause for headache for policy planners and implementers. Despite being the first
and most important step, it is often ignored. A CIPET-CPCB report notes that several the cities
do not have a proper processing plant coupled with sanitary landfill and mixed waste is dumped
using crude methods.6
20 This issue gets more worrisome in larger cities due to the quantity of unsegregated waste.
Apart from source segregation, efficient solid waste management calls for a decentralized
methods for segregated collection of dry and wet waste. Municipal bodies must develop
strategies to develop a detailed zone-wise waste collection approach integrated with activities
of outreach to sensitise the citizens on waste segregation and its benefits.

Recycling
Lifespan of plastics can be optimised for maximum benefits but this is practically sound only
for a finite number of times after which the fibres are too weak to be of any use. Further, many
companies prefer multi-layered plastics as they have one or more layer of aluminium foil or
paper between plastic material. They are more light-weight, stronger and increase shelf life of
products stored in them. Their recycling remains an expensive and challenging exercise. While
successive Rules have been quick to state the thickness of plastic bags being banned, little
attention has been paid to other forms of plastics like mineral water bottles.

Financial Constraints
There is a need to move towards a system of waste management with increased emphasis on
information, education and communication amongst the citizens. This is something that often
gets ignored in government guidelines and schemes. Through Solid Waste Management is a
state subject with responsibility majorly falling on ULBs which, as noted by TERI, get little
emphasis to sustain the services financially.

6
Central Pollution Control Board, Overview of Plastic Waste Management, (2013), available at
http://cpcb.nic.in/displaypdf.php?id=cGxhc3RpY3dhc3RlL1BXXzYwX2NpdGllc19yZXBvcnQtSmFuLTIwMT
Judicial Rulings On Plastic Waste Management
Karuna Society For Animals v. Union of India7
Petition was filed by Karuna Society seeking issuance of appropriate directions under S. 5 of
the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for prohibition of sale, use and disposal of plastic bags.
It poses harm to animals who ingest them and towards environment generally. Plastics often
consumed by the animals adversely affect their digestive tract resulting in their death.
The Supreme Court was alarmed by the dangers of plastic waste not properly disposed, but
held:
“it is not for this Court to monitor the functioning of concerned authorities & local authorities
to see that the areas of the local self-government are not polluted. Accordingly, we direct the
Union of India and the State Governments to consider the prayers in the petitions and take all
necessary steps in the matter in accordance with law by constituting committees consisting of
competent persons who have got sufficient knowledge on the subject matter. The Central
Government may also set up appropriate monitoring mechanism in the matter. In our
considered view the respective regional Natural Green Tribunal benches can monitor and
regulate the cases by passing / giving orders or directions to all the concerned statutory
authorities local self-governments in the country for discharge of their constitutional and
statutory duties.”
All India Plastic Industries Association V. Govt. Of Delhi8
Hearing the petition on menace of plastic in Delhi, principal bench headed by Swatanter Kumar
J., highlighted that serious problems of environmental degradation, damage to public and
animal health, choking of sewer lines thereby causing permanent impediment in the flow
resulting in flooding of roads as some of the issues with plastic waste. It directed the NCT Delhi
government, Delhi Pollution Control Committee and all public authorities/local bodies to
“ensure that sale, storage and use of such plastic at the shops or otherwise is not permitted. If
any person is found in possession or uses such plastic, shall be liable to pay Environmental
compensation of Rs. 5000/- per default.”
It is interesting to note that there was no reference to the bye-laws of the local body with regards
to the amount of fine to be imposed per default as per Rule 14(2), 2016 Rules. Notwithstanding
the good spirit in which the order was, the order betrays a lack of coherence in the
understanding of the Rules of the statutory body.

7
Karuna Society for Animals v. Union of India, W.P. (Civil) No. 154 of 2012, July 15, 2016
8
All India Platic Industries Association v. Govt. of NGT, 2017 SCC OnLine NGT 36
Successful Practices Elsewhere
There are some positive examples of waste disposal efforts made by individual nations. Certain
European nations have evolved sound and effective regulatory and disposal systems for the
treatment of plastic waste. Japan has experienced a rapid economic growth starting from 1960s.
Significant progress was made through the Waste Management Act, 1970. However, it was
observed that the steps taken could not resolve some problems like the continuing increase in
waste generation and the shortage of landfills. To provide comprehensive solutions to such
problems, the Japanese government shifted the focus of its policies to reducing waste
generation itself. Its Waste Management Act was amended in 1991 to introduce waste reduction
as one of the objectives.9
Further, to move away from system of mass disposal resulting from mass consumption, and to
promote society that values material-cycle for ensuring 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) and
proper waste management, the Basic Act for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society
(Basic Recycling Act), 2000 was introduced. Providing vision for such society it focused on
these things in the given order- generation reduction, reuse, recycling, thermal recovery and
proper disposal.
Promotion of understanding among consumers was an important part of this plan. It was done
through organisation of Waste Reduction Promotion Week, TV campaigns, formation of Tokyo
Waste Council with representatives from consumers, businesses and administration. Recycling
plazas were created for regular exchange of end-of-life products. Flyers and handbooks were
prepared explaining sorting of waste in simple language with illustrations.27 Other efforts
include creation of a specialised body under the Law for Promotion of Sorted Collection and
Recycling of Containers and Packaging, 1995 to engage in recycling containers and packaged
collected separately by municipalities by entrustment of designated manufacturers/users.
Another example is Columbia where government in collaboration with retail companies are
offering coupons to the residents for recycling. It was realised that monetary compensation
often induces people to behave in manner that they would generally be reluctant to. An
indigenous reverse vending machine – ECOBOT has been set up in public places like
universities, shopping malls etc. Users have to introduce an empty PET bottle and its cap in the
orifice. A discount coupon to be used in restaurants, movie theatres, stores pops out as a

9
Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan, History and Current State of Waste Management in
Japan, (2014), available at https://www.env.go.jp/en/recycle/smcs/attach/hcswm.pdf
reward. Side labels of the machines are used for advertising to cover the operational expenses.10
Closer home, Dr. R. Vasudevan of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai have come
out with a method to mix shredded plastic with hot gravel and adding it to molten asphalt.
According to him, one tonne of plastic waste with nine tonnes of bitumen lays one km of road.
Cost of one tonne bitumen (around Rs. 50000) is saved this way. These roads last longer and
being waterproof, wear-tear is reduced. However, its adoption has been patchy. Only TN has
introduced it to some extent.

10
M. Ernesto, Startup Stories: Ecobot Fosters Recycling (October 3, 2016), PANAMERICAN WORLD,
available at https://www.panamericanworld.com/en/article/startup-stories-ecobot-fosters-recycling
 CHAPTER TWO: BIO-MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
What Is Bio-Medical Waste?
Bio-medical waste is a by-product of healthcare and includes sharps, non-sharps, bloods, body
parts, chemicals, medical devices and radioactive materials. Bio-Medical Waste Management
Rules, 2016 define it as something “generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunisation
of human beings or animals or research activities pertaining thereto or in the production or
testing of biological or in health camps”.11

Laws Relating To Bio-Medical Waste Management

The world recognised the menace of bio-medical waste through inclusion of bio-medical waste
under category of toxic and hazardous wastes under Basel Convention. Government of India
framed and initiated the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules in 1998 to
control and check the proper management and disposal of Bio-Medical and Healthcare Wastes
in India. These Rules were further worked upon to produce the Bio-Medical Waste
(Management and Handling) Rules in 2011. However, this legislation remained to be
effectively implemented across hospitals – public and private, clinics, diagnostic centres, blood
banks, etc., across the country.
Subsequently, Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016 were notified. The prescribed
authority for implementation of the provisions is the SPCB for the States.12 Advisory
Committee under chairmanship of health secretary are required to be formed in each state, with
membership of representatives from government departments, SPCB, IMA, local bodies and
NGOs.34 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has been entrusted with review
of implementation of the rules on an annual basis. Duties of the occupier of the institution
generating bio-medical waste and that of operator of bio-medical waste treatment facility have
been clearly enunciated. Bio-medical waste have to be treated separately from municipal solid
waste. The liability in case of damages to environment and/or public is imposed on the occupier
of the facility producing bio-medical wastes or operator of bio- medical waste treatment
facility. Site selection for Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility is to
be done after consultation with stakeholders by “the department in the business allocation of
land assignment” in the State or Union Territory Government. Regard must be had to the
locational criteria and land requirement while choosing such a site. Though the provision does
not explicitly refer to any particular authority, District Magistrates

11
Rule 3(e), Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016.
12
Rule 9, Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016.
 are the “assigning authority” in most states (For instance, see Rules for Assignment of Land
within Municipal and Corporation Areas, 1995 for Kerala).
New rules have brought vaccination, blood donation and surgical camps within its ambit.43
Occupiers will not be allowed to establish on-site treatment and disposal facility if a CBWTF
is located within a radius of seventy-five km.

Judicial Decisions On Bio-Medical Waste Management

B. L. Wadehra v. Union of India13
The controversial aspect of mismanagement in handling Bio-Medical Waste first came for
adjudication in this landmark case. An advocate approached the Supreme Court of India under
Article 32 of the Constitution. He sought directions to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and
the New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) to perform their statutory duties in particular
the collection, removal and disposal of garbage and other wastes.
It was put forth before the Apex Court that this act of mismanaging bio-medical waste was a
gross violation of rights guaranteed to citizens under Article 21 and 48A, and 51A(g) of the
Constitution. The Supreme Court, in view of appalling conditions, issued guidelines to the GoI,
Government of the UT of Delhi, MCD and NDMC to construct and install incinerators in all
the government hospitals with fifty beds and above, and also ask the private hospitals to
construct their incinerators. It also placed obligation on CPCB and SPCB to send their
inspection teams periodically to such areas. Thus, it gave paramount importance to the
prescribed methods of handling and disposal.

Mahesh Dubey V. Chattisgarh Environment Conservation Board 14

This case before the NGT, Principal Bench brought out the concerns regarding improper
disposal and serious mismanagement of biomedical waste in Chattisgarh. The petitioner had
alleged negligence of the Chattisgarh government in handling the issue of implementation of
Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998. The tribunal was appalled by
the fact that only 1/5 of the healthcare facilities had proper facilities for treatment of wastes.
The government was not even aware of the total number of healthcare facilities in the state, let
alone enforce the rules.
Moreover, only four CBWTFs existed in the state for treating bio-medical waste. Out of those
four, only two had working incinerators as per the law. Land and location requirements also

13
B. L. Wadehra v. Union of India, 1996 SCC (2)
14
Mahesh Dubey v. Chattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, 2016 SCC OnLine NGT 3724
 were not met. Therefore, the tribunal ordered creation of a State Level Committee under
chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Medical Health with representative from SPCB to prepare
a complete inventory of all the health care facilities in the state and then prepare an action plan
for proper implementation of the 2016 Rules, and monitoring thereafter. However, it is worth
noting that nowhere in the judgment was there any reference to the “Advisory Committee” as
required under Rule 11, 2016 Rules. This supposedly means that that above mentioned
committee is to work parallel with the State Advisory Committee, if at all there is one. Unlike
Advisory Committee, the State Level Committee had no representation from voluntary groups.
Thus, it can be concluded that the noble intentions of the tribunal members are undone if the
judgments are not aligned to the existing rules.

Some Concerns
A court order is good only if implemented. A study of the capital‟s hospitals done after the
B.L. Wadehra judgment shows that few of the hospitals ensure that huge amount of the waste
they produce is disposed of safely.15 Proper disposal of waste would reduce the problem of
medical waste management up to large extent. Segregation is an important activity of the waste
disposal. It is found that segregation of hospital waste is not done at source. Most susceptible
to diseases from such waste are rag pickers and stray animals. Further, wrong bags for the
segregation of waste are being used. Bio-medical waste is grouped with the municipal waste as
there is no waste segregation. It was observed that 20 per cent having more than fifty beds
neither waste treatment facilities of their own nor any tie up for the same with other
establishments. Therefore, Delhi government then decided to install common incinerators and
autoclaves for the hospitals and nursing homes having less than fifty beds. Various studies and
reports have indicated that most of the incinerators do not work properly.

One of the biggest challenges to the implementation of 2016 Rules is the lack of funds. Many
hospitals may not be willing to invest in high costs associated with phasing out chlorinated
plastic bags, blood bags, gloves and creating a bar code system for containers/bags.
Successful Practices Elsewhere
Most important issues associated with environmental responsibility in healthcare relate to bio-
medical waste management and alternative technologies to incineration of medical

15
S. Singh, Mismanaging Hospital Waste 36(16) Economic and Political Weekly, 1297, 1297 (2001).
wastes. A report by Health Care Without Harm on Phillipine hospitals highlighted the
importance of waste reduction at source. This was done in Phillipines through sophisticated
risk management, liaison with manufacturers to shift to recyclable packaging like corrugated
cardboard instead of non-biodegradable Styrofoam packaging. Hospitals also have adopted„re-
use‟ for waste reduction accompanied by proper safety standards. 16 Not only are these
techniques beneficial to the environment, but they have financial benefits also. Reusable
materials are sterilised using the hospitals‟ autoclave. Old linens are recycled into mortuary
sheets and cleaning rugs. Broken trash bins are re-used as plant receptacles in the gardens of
the hospitals. FIFO policy is strictly implemented wherein regular monitoring of expiration of
medical supplies and pharmaceutical products takes place to minimise wastes.

Another important part is segregation of wastes. In fact efficient waste segregation forms the
foundation of other recycling activities. It was found that eighty percent of the waste produced
in the operation theatre is produced before the patient‟s arrival, thus reducing the waste to be
classified as “infectious”.52 Further, the a few hospitals have even involved patients to be
mindful of how they dispose of the wastes. This level of cooperation has been achieved not
from usual awareness programs but from incentive programs that the hospitals have in place.
Staff directly involved in waste segregation efforts received incentives in form of free annual
checkups (Hepatitis B and Tetanus immunisation) apart from rewarding people for waste
segregation efforts through profit sharing scheme of sale of hospital wastes.

Proper training of nurses and housekeepers in distinguishing between infectious waste from
MSW and withdrawal of infectious waste to centralised locations like soiled utility rooms has
generated savings to the tune of $ 1 mn every year for Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York. It
shows the importance of capacity building of the persons directly involved in handling of
waste.

16
Health Care Without Harm Asia, Best Practices in Health Care Waste Management, (2007), available at
https://noharm-asia.org/sites/default/files/documents-files/161/Best_Practices_Waste_Mgmt_Philippines.pdf
 CONCLUSION
In the entire journey of Indian laws on plastic as well as bio-medical waste, though one finds
out some important contributions in form of regular updation of Rules in recent decades have
been made, still the effective output is missing. It was observed that the rules for management
of both plastic and bio-medical wastes have been amended periodically in order to incorporate
the new approaches and techniques in line with the international environmental concerns.
However, the same has been weakened to some extent by lack of proper implementation
mechanisms.
It was also observed in context of plastic waste management that Extended Producers
Responsibility has been realised in the rules of 2016. However, EPR for plastic waste
management lacks detail. Moreover, space constraints have thwarted implementation of rules
in several areas. Some state governments have introduced ban on single use plastics. However,
the same has not been substantiated by any study. Credible information on penalties, strong
institutional enforcement and incentives of cash or kind often help in influencing consumer
decisions. The rules turn a blind eye to the informal recycling sector and don‟t count it as a
stakeholder in the process. Fact that even waste products are common goods if used properly to
create something of value is lost sight of in ignoring their rights. Moreover, financial constraints
often plague ULBs.
A relevant example from non-Western world is Japan, where there has been a move towards
the 3Rs. Focus has been on policy interventions to create a sound cycle-based society.
Promotion of citizen understanding has been done by Waste Reduction Promotion Week, TV
campaigns, Tokyo Waste Council with representatives from consumers, businesses and
administration and recycling plazas. Another example is Columbia, where indigenous reverse
vending machine – ECOBOT has been set up in public places which can be used to get discount
coupons on giving empty PET bottles. Closer home, a method to mix shredded plastic with hot
gravel and adding it to molten asphalt has been developed and is in preliminary stages of testing
on Indian roads.
The purview of the bio-medical waste management rules has been extended to vaccination,
blood donation and surgical camps. Duties of occupier and operators have been clearly defined.
Functional arrangements has been reworked through the new rules with proper delineation of
roles of the State government and local bodies. However, experience shows that the land and
locational requirements for setting up Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment and Disposal
Facilities have not been adhered to in several states. International experience also shows that
capacity building exercises need to be followed in order for the
proper and effective implementation of the rules. Despite full of noble intentions,
judicial approach towards issues concerning waste management in general is often not
streamlined with the relevant rules. Mahesh Dubey and All India Plastic Industries
Association are the cases in point. Experience from B.L. Wadehra case shows how
lack of accurate data on healthcare facilities hinders proper implementation of the
rules across the nation even after the court‟s directives.

Apart from the above advances, one must also turn to international best practices to
gain from the experience from other countries. Hospitals in Phillipines have
approached the healthcare waste management with proper care. They placed premium
f waste reduction at source by shifting to recyclable packaging from non-
biodegradable Styrofoam. Not only have techniques of „reuse‟ proved beneficial to
the environment, but they have financial benefits also. A lot of waste has been found
capable of recycling through proper waste segregation. Apart from generation of
awareness among patients and training of hospital staff, rewarding the people for
waste segregation efforts through profit sharing scheme of sale of hospital wastes has
also helped.