Nandyal: District Collector G Raja Kumari has instructed officials to ensure that all government and private hospitals, laboratories, clinics, and diagnostic centers in the district strictly comply with the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) guidelines on biomedical waste management.

At a review meeting held at her chamber on Saturday, the Collector reviewed the current pollution control measures with officials from the health, municipal, and panchayat raj departments.

She underlined that environmental protection is a shared responsibility and urged all medical establishments to handle biomedical waste in accordance with legal and environmental standards.

The Collector cautioned that expired medicines must be destroyed in a scientific manner and should not be mixed with regular waste, as improper disposal poses grave risks to public health and the environment.

She stressed that waste segregation at the source is essential, directing hospitals to use color-coded bags -- red, yellow, blue, and white -- to separately collect items like syringes, gloves, cotton, and biological waste for safe disposal.

Rajakumari further directed that every hospital, clinic, and diagnostic center must upload daily biomedical waste data on the "Biomedical Waste Management App." She warned that non-compliance would attract action from the AP Pollution Control Board. After the review, the Collector unveiled a public awareness poster titled "Think Before You Throw Waste."

The meeting was attended by AP Pollution Control Board Executive Engineer Kishore, District Medical and Health Officer Dr Venkataramana, DCHS Dr. Lalitha, and officials from the Panchayat Raj, Municipal, and other departments.