13 Thousand Tons of Medical Waste Converted to Domestic Waste in a Year and a Half in Izmir

13 thousand tons of medical waste was sterilized at the Medical Waste Sterilization Facility, which was put into service in Menemen last year by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. Medical wastes, which are produced in the health institutions in Izmir at the largest facility in Turkey with its capacity and pose a risk to public health, are collected and sterilized without human touch.

Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyerİzmir Metropolitan Municipality, which continues its investments in line with the environment-oriented municipal management approach of . The Metropolitan Municipality collects the medical wastes from the health institutions in the city at this facility. Medical wastes, which are safely received by weighing and radiation measurements from health institutions, are recorded with the online mobile waste tracking system (MOTAT), which is supervised by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. Wastes transported by medical waste licensed vehicles are collected and sterilized at the facility.

In İzmir, an average of 750 tons of medical waste is produced monthly.

Working as an Environmental Engineer at Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Waste Management Department, Fulya Evirgen said that Izmir Medical Waste Sterilization Facility has the largest installed capacity in Turkey. Fulya Evirgen stated that the medical wastes collected from 146 hospitals and 24 dialysis institutions, which generate more than one ton of medical waste per month, and a total of 2 health institutions, are sterilized in the facility, which operates 43 hours a day, 7 days a week. Evirgen said, “An average of 24 tons of medical waste generated monthly in İzmir is taken and brought here with bucket systems, untouched by hand, taking into account environmental health within the scope of occupational health and safety. Waste coming to the facility is sterilized. After leaving the sterilization unit, it is transferred to the crusher unit with the help of a conveyor belt.” Fulya Evirgen said that since March 750, when the facility started operating in the facility, where 110 tons of medical waste can be sterilized per day, 2020 thousand tons of waste has been sterilized until today.

Very important for public health

Every process in the facility, including feeding-unloading, inter-unit transportation, washing, disinfection and sterilization, has been designed with a modern and environmentalist perspective, according to the principle of sustainability. There is an energy recovery system between the steam generation unit and the sterilizers. Thus, natural water assets are protected through equipment that increases the recycle rate of condensed water.