Of the total wastes generated by health-care organizations, 10%-25% are biomedical wastes, which are hazardous to humans and the environment and requires specific treatment and management. For decades, incineration was the method of choice for the treatment of such infectious wastes. Incinerator releases a wide variety of pollutants depending on the composition of the waste, which leads to health deterioration and environmental degradation. The significant pollutants emitted are particulate matter, metals, acid gases, oxides of nitrogen, and sulfur, aside from the release of innumerable substances of unknown toxicity. This process of waste incineration poses a significant threat to public health and the environment. The major impact on health is the higher incidence of cancer and respiratory symptoms; other potential effects are congenital abnormalities, hormonal defects, and increase in sex ratio. The effect on the environmental is in the form of global warming, acidification, photochemical ozone or smog formation, eutrophication, and human and animal toxicity. Thus, there is a need to skip to newer, widely accepted, economical, and environment-friendly technologies. The use of hydroclaves and plasma pyrolysis for the incineration of biomedical wastes leads to lesser environmental degradation, negligible health impacts, safe handling of treated wastes, lesser running and maintenance costs, more effective reduction of microorganisms, and safer disposal.

Plastics have become a vital asset for humanity. Though extensive research and new technologies have led to invent of newer and safer plastics, but drawbacks and challenges of plastics have never been resolved and impact is on the rise. Some of the major compounds (vinyl chloride, dioxins, and plasticizers) are causative factors of hormone-disruption, reproductive dysfunction, breast growth and testicular cancers. The harmful effects are also pronounced in newborns via mothers during pregnancy or young children exposed directly.Recycling is one of the most convenient and easiest ways. Smarter sorting, energy efficient ways, developing smarter plastics and research to develop certain fungi and bacteria that hasten degradation of conventional plastics are some of the present era needs. Source reduction (Reduce and Reuse) can occur by altering the design, manufacture or reduced use of plastic products.Biodegradable plastics are similar to conventional plastics, with the additional quality of being able to naturally decompose and break into natural and safe byproducts. Bioplastics, nature derived plastics, are derived from biological sources such as sugar cane, cellulose etc. and these either degrade in open air or are made to compost using fungi, bacteria or enzymes.

No abstract

No abstract