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Biomedical Waste Management in Bangladesh: A Critical Review of Environmental Burden and Public Health Implications
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This review examined biomedical waste management in Bangladesh, finding inadequate segregation, treatment, and disposal are creating serious public health and environmental risks. Disposable medical products contribute to microplastic pollution, and the authors called for improved regulation, healthcare worker training, and sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics.
Biomedical waste management is a major public health and environmental challenge in Bangladesh, driven by rapid expansion of healthcare services, population growth, and increased use of disposable medical products. Inadequate segregation, treatment, and disposal of biomedical waste have intensified risks to human health and environmental sustainability. This review critically examines the sources and classification of biomedical waste in Bangladesh, existing management practices, environmental and public health impacts, governance and regulatory challenges, and emerging sustainable approaches. Evidence indicates that biomedical waste originates from hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, pharmaceutical industries, vaccination programs, veterinary services, and informal healthcare practices, contributing to soil, water, and air pollution, microplastic generation, and increased transmission of infectious and vector-borne diseases. Healthcare workers, waste handlers, informal recyclers, and surrounding communities face heightened occupational and community-level health risks. Major challenges include inadequate infrastructure, shortage of trained manpower, weak regulatory enforcement, poor institutional coordination, illegal recycling practices, and limited financial and technical capacity. Recent initiatives, including multi-modal interventions, strategic environmental assessments, NGO-led programs, and adoption of eco-friendly technologies, demonstrate promising improvements but remain limited in scale. Strengthening policy enforcement, expanding sustainable treatment technologies, improving workforce capacity, integrating digital monitoring systems, and enhancing public awareness are essential to establish a safe, effective, and sustainable biomedical waste management system in Bangladesh.
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This review assessed plastic pollution in Bangladesh — including its magnitude, sources, and health and environmental consequences — and found that microplastic contamination is widespread but poorly monitored, with limited national policy response relative to the scale of the problem.
The Escalating Biomedical Waste Management To Control the Environmental Transmission of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective from Two South Asian Countries
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This study examines the growing challenge of biomedical waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and India. The research suggests that improperly managed personal protective equipment and medical waste could contribute to long-term microplastic pollution, and recommends modernizing waste management policies and installing adequate incineration infrastructure to prevent environmental and community transmission risks.
Microplastic Pollution in Bangladesh: A Review of Ecological and Biochemical Impacts
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This review summarized the current state of microplastic pollution in Bangladesh, covering occurrence across water, soil, seafood, and air, as well as documented ecological and biochemical health impacts. The authors identify Bangladesh's rapid urbanization and poor waste management as key drivers of its disproportionate microplastic burden.
Microplastic pollution in Bangladesh: Research and management needs
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This review summarizes what is known about microplastic pollution in Bangladesh, one of the world's most densely populated countries and a major contributor to plastic waste. Despite being the first country to ban plastic bags in 2002, microplastics dominated by textile fibers have been detected throughout the country's rivers and marine environments. The study calls for more comprehensive research and better waste management practices to address the growing microplastic contamination problem.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.