Strengthening Producer Liability Insurance for Medical Waste in Shanghai, China, and Japan: The Current Situation in 2020

Strengthening Producer Liability Insurance for Medical Waste in Shanghai, China, and Japan: The Current Situation in 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic generated massive amounts of medical waste, making its proper disposal a pressing social issue. In particular, major metropolitan areas such as Wuhan and Beijing saw a marked surge in infectious waste; in 2020, approximately 240 tons of medical waste per day were sent to treatment facilities in Wuhan. In Beijing, approximately 400 tons of medical waste were generated daily that same year, making the expansion of disposal capacity an urgent priority. Major items included in medical waste are plastic protective gear, masks, and syringes, which require strict management as highly infectious waste. If these items are not properly disposed of, the risk of environmental pollution and health hazards increases, and they can also contribute to the spread of infection. Across China, a cumulative total of 260,000 tons of medical waste was generated in 2020 alone. In response to this situation, major insurance companies such as Sompo Japan and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance have strengthened their medical waste producer liability insurance. Specifically, they have utilized GPS and RFID technologies for waste tracking and management, and by 2021, more than 80% of waste treatment facilities nationwide had adopted these technologies. Furthermore, mechanisms have been expanded to ensure that insurance fully covers the costs of removal and remediation in cases where illegal dumping is discovered, with compensation per incident reaching up to 100 million yen in some cases. In the 2020s, companies have also been strengthening their environmental protection initiatives. Waste management companies such as Japan Environmental Design Co., Ltd. and Ecosystem Co., Ltd. have introduced new incineration and waste detoxification technologies to improve their medical waste processing capacity, increasing incineration capacity by 20% in 2022. Ecosystem Co., Ltd. is detoxifying 5,000 tons of medical waste annually using a detoxification treatment system installed in 2021. Furthermore, in China, Shanghai significantly tightened its medical waste disposal standards in 2021. New regulations were enacted imposing fines of up to 5 million yuan (approximately 85 million yen) for negligence in the management or disposal of infectious waste. These regulations apply not only to waste disposal companies but also to medical institutions, and in 2022, the number of cases subject to penalties in Shanghai reached 30.