THE Planning and Development Ministry is conducting a national study on home healthcare waste disposal.

In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said this national online survey was launched on September1, in co-ordination with the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The ministry said, "The outcome of this survey is to address gaps within the national waste management system to minimise the risks posed to sanitation and health workers, the general public, negate any adverse environmental impact, and optimise a national waste system."

The responses to the survey, the ministry continued, will be kept strictly confidential and are anonymous. Whileh national guidelines exist for management of biomedical waste generated from home healthcare, the ministry said, "There is currently a gap in the disposal of this waste stream as there is no established system in place."

As a result, the ministry continued, home healthcare wastes can become co-mingled with domestic waste and enter the municipal solid waste stream going to landfills." The ministry said, "This presents a threat of infection and injury to humans and pollution of the environment."

The ministry added that the covid19 pandemic has introduced a new concern "resulting in increased generation of this type of waste from households, thereby exacerbating the situation." The ministry said data from this survey will serve as the basis for identifying the strengths, needs and barriers to be targeted for closing these gaps, in accordance with best practice approaches.

Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis stressed the need for this national research in the context of Government’s goal of placing the environment at the centre of social and economic development. Robinson-Regis said this project contributes to Trinidad and Tobago’s achievement of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 12, "Responsible Consumption and Production."