Malaysia’s hazardous waste management expert, Kualiti Alam Sdn Bhd, has reported that it collects more than 50 tons of pharmaceutical waste every month from pharmaceutical manufacturers and private hospitals for disposal. There is also a possibility that the company will be tasked with disposing of used Covid-19 vaccine bottles once the vaccination process is adopted on a large-scale nationwide.
In Malaysia, pharmaceutical waste such as expired or unused medicines, as well as syringes, blood bags, and urine bags are classified under the SW 405 code and must be disposed of in compliance with Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005. Meanwhile, clinical waste from government health facilities is handled by other companies such as Radicare, Edgenta Medisure, and Medivest, but Kualiti Alam also receives requests to handle clinical waste.
Kualiti Alam owns and runs the only hazardous waste management center in Malaysia, which is located in Bukit Pelanduk in the state of Negeri Sembilan. The company is a subsidiary of Cenviro Sdn Bhd, a leading waste management and renewable energy company. The incineration plant installed at its integrated hazardous waste management center is fitted with a rotary kiln that acts as the main combustion chamber with a temperature of up to 1,000° Celsius. It also has the capacity to manage 76 categories of the 77 scheduled wastes by the Malaysian Department of Environment and to treat and dispose of all types of industrial wastes except wastes generated by radioactive, nuclear, and explosive materials.
(Source: Sarawak Tribune)
