The medical waste in the penitentiary system will be collected and destroyed at a specialized point that was opened at Penitentiary No. 16 located in Pruncul village. This was set up with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), IPN reports.

The installed equipment reuses syringes and needles and transforms them from biological into household waste. “After they go through special apparatus, the syringes can be thrown into a garbage bin. This mechanism is modern and ecological and excludes any type of injury during burning. Until now the syringes and needles were separated and then burned. The atmosphere now won’t be polluted,” said UNODC representative Ina Tcaci.

Acting director of the Department of Penitentiary Institutions Alexandru Panzari stated that considerable effort is made to provide the detainees with health services similar to those available in the civilian sector.

The new biological waste management equipment costs about US$13,000.