THE Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) unveiled a medical waste disposer that could reduce the infectious medical waste in the hospital.
On Monday, September 23, SPMC Ltd. introduced the first sterilizing machine donated by the Fukushima Industries Inc. that could compress 10 to 15 kilograms of infectious waste for seven minutes.
SPMC chief training officer Dr. Maria Elinore Concha said the P3.5-million machine aims to reduce the volume of the infectious wastes generated by the hospital.
"We also want to ensure that when we throw these waste, it won't be infectious and can pose harm to the community," Concha said.
In a previous report, SPMC generates an average of 1,300 kilograms of non-biodegradable wastes per day, contributed by the hospital's more than 5,000 employees and almost 2,000 bed patients.
But Concha said they do not have a specific data on how many infectious waste are being generated by the hospital.
She said, though, that they wanted to ensure that they would be able to reduce the waste the hospital generates. They already pilot-tested the banning of single use plastics inside the hospital premises last August this year.
But she said they would have a separate solid waste management facility for general wastes.
Shinko Holdings operations department's Hiroshi Tushisaka said the machine can be operated in a small area and it is easily operational.
Tushisaka said the sterilization process would take seven minutes with a temperate of 200 degree Celsius.
He said medical waste that the machine could accommodate are from medical facilities such as doctor's offices, hospitals, dental clinics, laboratories, medical research facilities and veterinary clinics. (Stacy Claire Price, UM Intern/With reports from Ralph G. Llemit)