Waste from the ADK private hospital in Malé such as syringes, gloves, and blood samples has been found on nearby streets, reports newspaper Haveeru.
Residents of the neighbourhood informed the local daily that seeing waste lying on the street was a daily occurrence.
The items are often left behind when waste is taken away twice daily on a pickup, the residents explained.
“Test tubes are crushed underneath motorbikes and blood is seen, spilled on the street. They take away the waste in ordinary disposal bags. The place reeks of foul stench when they do,” a resident was quoted as saying.
ADK Managing Director Ahmed Afaal told the newspaper that while hazardous waste was disposed in Thilafushi under strict supervision, other materials not considered hazardous were taken out with regular trash.
He conceded the possibility of such waste having spilled out on the street.
“People involved in waste disposal in Malé are not professionals. Therefore items used in the hospital, though nonhazardous, could have spilled out on to the street. As there are no professionals providing waste disposal services, we are unable to dispose of the waste in the most efficient manner,” he was quoted as saying.
He added that the hospital – the largest private hospital in the Maldives – had not received any complaints regarding waste on the street.
“We try to do this properly, without any harm coming to locals. We will look into how that took place,” he said.
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