POST 01296E: BETTER TO HAVE SOME WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM THAN NONE AT ALL

POST 01296E: BETTER TO HAVE SOME WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM THAN NONE AT ALL FOLLOW-UP ON POST 01295E 30 JULY 2008 ******************************************* Vijay- Thank you for making this excellent point that we need a feasibility baseline before adopting a medical waste disposal "system". I prefer the word "system" to "technology" because we definitely need to think about the waste issue in a comprehensive manner¾For instance, waste segregation, when systematically implemented can reduce considerably the volume of waste and subsequently render the transportation and final disposal a bit less problematic. The technology is part of the system, and, of course it is important to have the appropriate technology. Even though I see your point and understand the rationale of it, I don't think that we should condemn some methods as "totally unacceptable" before we have in place "acceptable" methods in place¾People should get some credit for trying to dispose of the waste, rather than dumping them in unsupervised areas. However, we should be more aggressive in recommending that every country puts in place national standards/or policy to guide partners and populations. Furthermore, it is not unreasonable to demand from each partner that wants to support any health program to put a 2 to 5% waste management budget line. Once this becomes a standard by itself, I think waste management will not be viewed as an unpleasant afterthought. Dr. Jules Millogo ([[email protected]][email protected][/email]) Medical Director Retractable Technologies Inc. Washington, DC Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)