Veolia decontaminates infectious medical waste in Colombia and Panama with Ecosteryl machines

Veolia, specialized in hospital waste management in Colombia since 2011, acquired two Ecosteryl decontamination machines in 2017 to treat medical waste in a more environmentally friendly way. One machine is installed in Cucutá (Colombia) and the other one in La Chorrera (Panamá). Camilo Hernández, Director of Industrial Operations at Veolia Colombia-Panamá, answered our questions.

Competition and transformation of the medical waste treatment sector in Colombia and Panama

In the last three years, Veolia has processed between 600 and 1.500 tons of medical waste per year with our solutions. The market in Colombia and Panama is changing in major cities such as Bogota and Panama City and is consolidating in other Colombian cities.

In Bogota, the market opened to competition in 2022, generating new offers for clinics and hospitals, but with a negative effect on market prices, while in other Colombian cities the market consolidated in a more orderly way.

In Panama, in addition to incineration, the Ecosteryl technology is authorized, allowing the market to discover the value of an alternative technology and appreciate its environmental benefits.

In both Colombia and Panama, the medical sector is very interested in the possibilities for using/sorting/recycling decontaminated medical waste. Veolia teams are currently analyzing the possibilities of sorting and recycling decontaminated medical waste in Colombia and Panama.

Covid has had a 10% impact on waste stream

During the pandemic, the medical waste stream was variable. Initially, as nonessential treatments were eliminated, the amount of hospital waste decreased.

“However, with each wave of Covid, there were further increases. Overall, the pandemic generated no more than a 10% increase in waste to be treated,” Camilo Hernández pointed out.

Ecosteryl provides a safe and clean management of medical waste

When asked about his opinion on the Ecosteryl machines, Camilo Hernández stated that “Ecosteryl offers excellent efficiency between production and safety, allowing us to have a safer and cleaner process. In addition to easy and safe operation, it consumes few resources and has a lower environmental impact.”

In addition, Veolia has demonstrated that the machine can be easily moved to another location, an argument in favor of the Ecosteryl machines, which only need electrical connection to operate. “It was a delicate operation, but in the end, disassembling and reassembling the machine was easy because the structure is compact and many parts can be transported already assembled,” adds Camilo Hernández.

Some advice from Veolia for any new player in the medical waste management industry

Like in all areas and all sectors, medical waste management requires a continuous vocation.

According to Camilo Hernández, it remains a special sector, and in order to be able to work in it effectively and professionally -as does Veolia-, several steps must be taken.
For any company wishing to break into the medical waste treatment sector, he recommends investing in a center and the necessary licenses, choosing the right decontamination technology, setting up logistics for waste collection, a traceability system and a well-trained team to respond to the needs of customers, the authorities and the environment.

In addition to easy and safe operation, the machine consumes few resources and has a lower environmental impact.