Laboratory chemical waste and Medical Centre biomedical waste are collected separately and routed through RCC’s facility for washing, sorting, shredding, recycling and incineration.

RAJSHAHI — Hazardous waste generated at Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (RUET) — including chemical waste from teaching and research laboratories and clinical/biomedical waste from the RUET Medical Centre — is collected separately from general campus waste and handed over to Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) for processing.

RCC receives the waste at its dedicated processing facility near City Haat, on the outskirts of Rajshahi, where it goes through a structured, five-stage process.

First, recoverable materials such as plastics and textiles are washed in industrial washing units to remove contamination. Second, mixed waste, including medical and clinical packaging, is manually sorted by trained workers wearing gloves, masks and caps, separating recyclable plastics, glass and metal from residual and biomedical waste. Third, sorted plastic and fibrous waste is shredded into uniform fragments for sale to recyclers.

Fourth, waste that cannot be safely recycled — such as used syringes, contaminated packaging and pathological waste — is destroyed under controlled conditions in a dedicated incinerator, reducing the risk of contamination and infection. Finally, sorted recyclables and non-recyclable residues are held in a covered, partitioned storage shed, and only residual waste that cannot be recycled, composted or safely incinerated is taken to RCC’s adjoining municipal dumping ground.

Through this partnership, RUET’s high-risk waste is not left to informal handling but channelled into a regulated municipal treatment chain, consistent with the university’s Waste Disposal Policy for hazardous materials. The arrangement supports SDG 12, SDG 3, SDG 6, SDG 11 and SDG 17.

SDG Alignment: SDG 12 (primary); SDG 3; SDG 6; SDG 11; SDG 17.