The government has appealed to both public and private health facilities to ensure safe disposal of used Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna on Friday urged the health facilities to shred and incinerate the PPEs before they are dumped.
“The PPEs which include overalls, facemasks, gloves, hand wipes, and disinfecting waste should properly be disposed of for safety of the public,” Oguna said.
The PPEs which include overalls, facemasks, gloves, hand wipes, and disinfecting waste should properly be disposed of for safety of the public. 2/
— Spokesperson GoK (@SpokespersonGoK) April 2, 2021
This comes days after young men were seen donning used PPEs at the Dandora dumpsite, raising concerns over poor disposal of the crucial gear in the fight against Covid-19.
Dandora is Nairobi’s main dumping ground. It’s estimated that it receives more than 2,000 metric tonnes of waste from the capital city’s 4.5 million residents daily.
In the images taken by Associated Press Photojournalist Brian Inganga on Sunday, March 28, 2021, the young men, who were found scavenging recyclable materials for sale, claimed they don the gowns to protect themselves during the rainy season.
Read: Concerns as Dandora Dump Site Scavengers Don Discarded PPEs
The careless disposal of gowns, masks, gloves and other PPEs that might be contaminated goes against guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO).
To prevent contamination, it’s recommended that all protective and disinfecting waste should be separated from general consumer waste (food waste, plastic items, paper, and cardboard) by using separate bins and liners. After that, it should be incinerated.
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