Gabriella Jóźwiak is an award-winning journalist based in London who writes extensively on international development issues. In February 2023 she interviewed HECAF360's Mahesh Nakarmi and Ruth Stringer of Health Care Without Harm about their collaboration on the development of a custom-designed multi-chambered biodigester at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan Teaching Hospital. The following is lifted from her online article.

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The Teaching Hospital is a 700-bed facility that produces on average a ton of waste per day. Prior to the digester, staff incinerated pathological and anatomical waste such as placentas. However since placentas are composed of about 60% water, workers added paper and plastics to fuel the fire, which caused air pollution. Workers would also pile up hospital food waste outside the building where, awaiting waste collectors to eventually haul it away to a municipal dump, it would attract rats and flies.

Nakarmi, an engineer by background, worked with a biodigester expert to create the digester. Hospital staff load the waste into the digester through two inlets above ground. The waste falls into the first of two chambers where it mixes with cow dung to stimulate the process and water to keep it flowing. 

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The placentas are potentially infectious but decompose over a period of about six months in the digester – by which time any dangerous pathogens are eliminated. The “digest” – or waste – flows into a sewer connected to the tank. “There are no mechanical issues,” Nakarmi said. Gravity moves the mixture along. The digester uses no power and is low-maintenance.

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For more on HECAF360's work with biodigesters click here For the full text of Gabriella Jóźwiak's article click here.