BEIJING — China's medical waste disposal capacity has expanded remarkably since the start of the novel coronavirus epidemic, according to data from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

The country's daily disposal capacity jumped to 6,100 tons on April 18 from 4,902.8 tons before the epidemic.

A total of 280,000 tons of medical waste was disposed of from Jan 20 to April 18, data showed.

Hubei province, once the center of the outbreak, has seen its daily medical disposal capacity skyrocket to 667.4 tons from 180 tons.

The current disposal capacity of Wuhan, the provincial capital, is more than five times what it was before the epidemic broke out, soaring to 265.6 tons per day from 50 tons per day.