14 June 2016: The Pacific Hazardous Waste Management (PacWaste) project coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has installed and commissioned four of 26 state-of-the-art healthcare waste incinerators. PacWaste is providing the incinerators in response to a 2013 survey finding that none of the region’s key hospitals and health clinics met minimum standards for proper management of hazardous healthcare wastes, in large part due to the lack of appropriate incinerators and training in best practices.

The four high-temperature incinerators were installed at Tungaru Central Hospital (Kiribati), Vaiola Hospital (Tonga), Princess Margaret Hospital (Tuvalu) and Vila Central Hospital (Vanuatu). The incinerators provide safer management of bio-hazardous waste, and reduce airborne contaminants, such as dioxins, which can be released through uncontrolled or low-temperature burning of healthcare waste.

All participating institutions will receive personal protective equipment, signage and secure storage systems, as well as training and ongoing support through periodic system checks and audits.

PacWaste is a €7.85 million, four-year project funded by the EU and implemented by SPREP, aimed at improving hazardous waste management, with a focus on healthcare wastes, e-waste and asbestos wastes. PacWaste also funds a best-practice demonstration project on atoll waste management on the Marshall Islands atoll of Majuro. [SPREP Press Release] [PacWaste Website]