Medical Waste Mutual Aid Association "Additional Incineration of 75.77 Tons per Day Possible, Concerns of Incineration Capacity Saturation Are Unfounded"

Stable Level Compared to March's Highest Confirmed Cases with Incineration Rate of 95.34%

As COVID-19 cluster infections have been spreading nationwide, including the Seoul metropolitan area, concerns have been raised about the disposal of COVID-19-related medical waste. However, it has been confirmed that actual medical waste incineration facilities are operating stably, maintaining an incineration rate of about 83% compared to their permitted capacity.

According to the Korea Medical Waste Mutual Aid Association (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Mutual Aid Association’), as of September, among the 13 medical waste incineration facilities in Korea, the incineration rate of 10 companies affiliated with the Mutual Aid Association was 83.68% of the permitted capacity. Contrary to some concerns about saturation in medical waste incineration, there is a daily margin of 75.77 tons. Assuming that each COVID-19 confirmed patient generates about 10 kg of medical waste per day, the facilities can accommodate up to 7,577 additional confirmed patients daily without exceeding 100% capacity.

For reference, according to data submitted by the Ministry of Environment to the National Assembly, the average incineration rate of the 13 medical waste incineration facilities nationwide from January to June this year was 93.54% of the permitted capacity. Even compared to March, when the number of confirmed cases was highest at 6,636 per month and the incineration rate was 95.34% of permitted capacity, the current medical waste incineration rate remains sufficiently stable.

Moreover, even if a surge in medical waste occurs, under Article 29 of the Enforcement Rules of the Waste Management Act, medical waste disposal companies can incinerate up to 130% of their permitted capacity without requiring a permit change. Additionally, according to the ‘Special Provisions on Medical Waste Disposal’ under the Waste Management Act, effective since May this year, if medical waste reaches saturation due to a rapid increase in COVID-19 confirmed cases, some relatively low-risk medical waste can be sent to designated waste incineration plants. Therefore, all waste from confirmed patients can be safely and promptly processed at medical waste incineration facilities without backlog.

Meanwhile, domestic medical waste is classified into isolation medical waste, hazardous medical waste, and general medical waste. Isolation medical waste refers to all waste generated during medical procedures for individuals isolated due to infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Currently, isolation medical waste is managed under strengthened government guidelines, with principles of same-day removal, transport, and incineration.

Some media outlets have expressed concerns that the principle of same-day processing may not be upheld due to the surge in isolation medical waste, but the Mutual Aid Association claims this is an unfounded worry. Although an unprecedented infectious disease outbreak naturally leads to an increase in isolation medical waste, overall medical waste generation has significantly decreased compared to last year since January this year, when disposable diapers with low infection risk were excluded from medical waste. Therefore, actual medical waste processing capacity remains ample.

Furthermore, according to data submitted by the Ministry of Environment to the National Assembly, isolation medical waste containing waste from COVID-19 confirmed patients accounted for only 6.55% of the medical waste generated from January to June this year, indicating that the impact of isolation medical waste on total medical waste incineration volume is minimal.

Meanwhile, since the onset of COVID-19, the Mutual Aid Association has been leading efforts for the safe and prompt disposal of COVID-19 medical waste in cooperation with medical waste collection, transport, and disposal companies. In addition to medical waste generated by hospitals and clinics, the Association supports the designation of disposal companies for waste generated by individuals in self-quarantine, ensuring thorough processing of COVID-19 waste. To further ensure worker safety, the Association has produced and distributed safety manuals and provided a total of 1,185 sets of personal protective equipment, including protective suits, goggles, gloves, shoe covers, and masks, free of charge.

Director Ahn Byung-cheol of the Korea Medical Waste Mutual Aid Association stated, “In accordance with the government’s special waste safety management measures, we are doing our best to ensure safe disposal by deploying additional personnel so that COVID-19-related medical waste can be collected and incinerated on the same day.” He added, “Although the prolonged situation, wearing personal protective equipment, and vehicle disinfection have made the work more challenging than before, we ask for support for the waste workers who are quietly working across the country while strictly following the government’s tightened guidelines for the safety of the public.”