The Medical Waste Management rules are now lying with the law ministry for vetting, he said at a seminar on 'Hospital waste management: Present situation in the country', organised by the Community Development Library (CDL) in the city.

"Procrastination in the government system of functioning, as usual, slows the pace of instituting an effective mechanism of waste management," said Dr Rahman.

However, the government has so far introduced systematic medical waste management at 13 district-level hospitals and two medical college hospitals in Sylhet and Chittagong, he said, adding that the government initiative will cover 35 more district hospitals in the current fiscal.

Medical waste makes up seven percent, that is 220 metric tons, of the total 3,000 tons of solid waste generated in the capital a day, said Dr Nasima Akter, coordinator of the environmental resource unit of the Brac, citing her study conducted in 2002.

If disposed of improperly and untreated, medical waste poses a serious risk of transmitting infectious diseases such as hepatitis and HIV/Aids, she said.

Hospital waste is a major public health hazard because it contains poisonous chemicals, radiation and sharp clinical materials such as needle, blade and knife, said Monir Alam Chowdhury, project coordinator of Prism-Bangladesh, in his keynote paper.

Lack of awareness and commitment on the part of most medical practitioners and clinic owners is a serious setback for a proper waste management mechanism, he said.

He also said that the initiatives taken by some NGOs and the government are too inadequate for a countrywide medical waste management system.

Research officer of the Institute and Policy Support Unit Md Anisul Kabir gave a presentation on medical waste management in Rajshahi city corporation area at the seminar, chaired by CDL executive committee member Prof Abdus Salam.