Toxic waste from tests a danger to public health - What is the Municipality doing about it?

Temploni Association has said that used self-tests are hazardous medical waste which mustn't end up in the environment. It is asking the responsible Deputy Mayor Yiannis Seremetis how the waste is being managed so that it is not a danger to public health.

Temploni Association statement:

As we all know, since Thursday individual Covid-19 self tests have been distributed free to pharmacists by the state so that, intitially, they can be used by educators and pupils (twice a week per person) and then be made available to the public.

We heard the President of Corfu Pharmacists' Association Alexandros Stamatakos on ERA Radio expressing his serious concerns about what will happen with the used tests and categorising them as HAZARDOUS MEDICAL WASTE due to the elements contained in them.

We contacted him and he told us that the instruction leaflet contained in the tests in Greek states THESE MUST NOT END UP IN THE ENVIRONMENT, DRAINS OR SURFACE WATER.

This means that after tests have been used, members of the public will have HAZARDOUS MEDICAL WASTE in their hands which is a danger to the environment and public health and which must, on no account, end up in ordinary waste bins - either blue or green.

Consequently, the responsible public cleansing service should provide clear information to the public about how this waste from used tests should be collected and managed - something which we haven't yet seen.

Due to the seriousness of the matter, we are calling on the Deputy Mayor for Cleansing Yiannis Seremetis to inform the public, using all available means, about how the public service will be dealing with the HAZARDOUS MEDICAL WASTE so that there are no serious consequences for the envirionment and public health.

We await your response.