Indonesia
HCWH-AP, along with Bali Fokus and the Swedish environmental agency KEMI, is working with the Denpasar municipality to encourage city hospitals to apply a sustainable non-mercury and medical waste-processing program. The municipality recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Bali Fokus and several hospitals to process their medical waste in a non-hazardous manner.
The campaign started with 10 hospitals, including Sanglah General Hospital, Udayana Army Hospital, Bhayangkara Police Hospital, Puri Raharja Hospital, BaliMed Hospital, Indera Hospital, Surya Husada, Bali Royal Hospital, Wangaya, and Puri Bunda Hospital, all in Denpasar.
While some hospitals and other medical facilities still use medical equipment containing mercury, the government had successfully reduced mercury usage in a number of hospitals. The environmental organizations worked hand-in-hand with governments and hospitals. Because of this interaction, more and more healthcare facilities have pledged to phase out mercury.
This is the first initiative to phase-out mercury that the local government has engaged in. Bali Fokus and its counterparts in the program provide intensive training and guidance on the usage of personal protective equipment and standard procedures for managing mercury waste. With the wealth of support and information being passed around, the attitudes towards mercury in Bali are shifting.