By Asiya Muhammed –
Asiya Muhammed
Across South Asia, institutions from hospitals to universities and government offices have no shortage of waste management policies. Documents are signed, committees formed, and declarations issued. Yet walk into the backyards of these same institutions, and the story looks very different. Biomedical waste left in open bins, hazardous chemicals poured down drains, and overflowing bins where plastic, paper, and food waste are all dumped together.
The gap between what policies states and how they are practiced is more than just an administrative oversight. It weakens public trust and puts communities at serious risk. When hospitals fail to dispose of biomedical waste safely, they don’t just put their own staff at risk they endanger sanitation workers, patients, their families, and entire neighborhoods. When schools or universities treat waste as an afterthought, they send a message to young people that environmental safety is negotiable.
The hidden costs of neglect
Failure to manage waste is not just a regulatory issue but its being’s immeasurable consequences. Proper disposal of waste is essential as improper disposal of biomedical waste can lead to contamination of nearby water sources, open dumping increases the risk of infectious diseases like hepatitis, HIV, and others among sanitation workers and waste pickers. Contaminants from industrial waste seep into soil and waterways causing long-term health problems, from breathing disorders to cancers.
The impact on environment is high and so is the cost to clean this up. Open burning produces harmful smoke that contains dioxins and other toxins and is released into the atmosphere making the air quality worse. Plastics are recyclable but due to negligence end up in rivers and eventually in the ocean polluting the water bodies. When institutions fail to manage their waste responsibly, the ripple effects extend far beyond their gates.
Policy without practice
Sri Lanka is not lacking in rules and regulatory frameworks. Most countries have clear biomedical waste rules, municipal solid waste guidelines, and environmental regulations. The problem lies in implementation. Policies are often treated as a formality rather than a responsibility. Too often, companies focus on ticking compliance boxes instead of handling waste responsibly.
This gap between formality and responsibility causes unnecessary skepticism. Public is advised by the government officials to segregate household waste and be careful with hazardous and biomedical waste but they see offices in government, institutions and hospitals failing to follow their own rules. This sets a very wrong example in their mind. Young children are taught at school about recycling and pollution but growing up they witness the waste being dumped at the roadside or casual attitude of adults about waste. So, we should be responsible of our actions and lessons learned in our formative years should shape how we act as responsible citizens. This will ensure that these actions become a habit and our first thought is about efficient waste disposal and not merely getting rid of waste at hand.
Accountability in action
It is easily said that we should be accountable for our actions but what does it look like in practice?
Transparency: Institutions must be willing to publish data on how much waste they generate, how it is classified, and where it goes. This simple act of disclosure puts pressure on leaders to move beyond rhetoric and allows the public to hold them to account.
Training: Waste management cannot be outsourced to the lowest rung of the institutional hierarchy. From cleaners to senior administrators, every stakeholder needs clear guidance, defined responsibility, and the resources to carry out safe disposal practices.
Partnering with experts: Partnerships between local governments and NGOs with private firms who are experts in the field, being their years of experience to practice in the areas that institutions lack. Technical collaborating with specialists can bridge gap between policies and practices, ensuring sustainable actions.
Engineering responsibility
Such collaborations have resulted in bringing out positive change. Mc Clelland Engineers worked with hospitals, research centers and industries for efficient waste disposal using thermal systems tailor made to each waste type. Incinerators are not a one size fits all solution; it needs to be engineered. For this knowledge about the waste type and installation site conditions are needed to ensure combustion is controlled condition and released gases remain within the regulatory limits. Thus, the risks to patients, staff, and surrounding communities are significantly lowered.
These interventions should not be thought as a method to full fill the regulatory requirement or escape fines or punishments. They fill a larger role of protectors that allows institutions to operate without disruption or harming the life or environment. From secure storage for infectious waste to infrastructure that ensures safe segregation and disposal, the emphasis is on making compliance routine rather than optional. When systems are built this way, staff are not forced to improvise safe practice becomes the default.
Introducing accountability into the concept of waste management systems would ensure that the institutions do not have to choose between efficiency and responsibility and firms like Mc Clelland with demonstrate experience can guide them with the right infrastructure, they can achieve both.
Learning from global examples
All across the world waste incineration is widely adopted. European hospitals are required to publish annual waste management reports to ensure transparency and accountability. Japanese schools are integrated with city-wide recycling systems and students are taught by example rather than just classroom lessons. Singapore has shown how tightly regulated incineration and recycling can drastically reduce landfill dependency while protecting public health.
South Asia need not reinvent the wheel, but it must recognize that imported policies are meaningless without institutional ownership. It is not enough for governments to draft rules; institutions must adopt and practice them. Waste management must be treated not as a compliance burden, but as a marker of credibility and integrity.
The leadership challenge
Institutional leaders, hospital directors, government secretaries must stop treating waste as a unimprotant matter. Waste management is central to health, safety, and institutional reputation. A school that dumps waste irresponsibly is teaching irresponsibility. A hospital that mishandles biomedical waste is not just careless it is helping spread disease.
Leadership also means facing uncomfortable truths. Sadly, many institutions often cut cost on waste management, treating it as an afterthought and something they assume public will not notice. This is not true as now the communities are now more aware of environmental issues and institutional negligence. Communities have seen firsthand the devastating impact on health and environment. It has now become clear to the institutions that either they play by the rules, or they lose public trust.
Waste as a test of accountability
In the end, waste management is about more than disposal it is a test of integrity. Institutions that manage their waste properly prove that they take responsibility seriously. Those that fail expose not only their communities to harm, but their own credibility to erosion.
The solutions are not mysterious. Transparency, training, and partnerships can transform policy into practice. Firms like Mc Clelland Engineers show that technical expertise can turn compliance into everyday reality. What is missing is not knowledge but commitment!
Policies without practice are meaning less and breeds cynicism. Action and not empty talks or statements is what restores public confidence. If our institutions wish to regain that confidence, they must stop preaching responsibility and start practicing it in every bin, in every system, every day.
*Asiya Muhammed Kochuveettil is currently involved in Business Operations and Sales at Mc Clelland Engineers Pvt Ltd., a leading manufacturer of engineered incineration systems for hazardous waste. With a background in research and a commitment to sustainable industrial practices, she brings a cross-functional perspective to compliance, environmental safety, and operational infrastructure. She is also a Member of the Royal Society of Biology (UK).
