An urgent call to think globally and act locally on landfill disposable plastics under and after covid-19 pandemic: Pollution prevention and technological (Bio) remediation solutions

Silva, Ana L. Patrício; Prata, Joana C.; Duarte, Armando C.; Barceló, Damià; Rocha-Santos, Teresa

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2021.131201

Cited by 69 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…Furthermore, the outbreak has resulted in an unexpected increase in the number of patients admitted to hospitals. As a result, a huge number of medical equipment and single-use items, such as masks, gloves, hazmat, PPE suites, etc., have been produced in bulk, increasing the overall generation of a large quantity of BMW ( Islam et al, 2021 ; Iyer et al, 2021 ; Patrício Silva et al, 2021 ; Sarkodie and Owusu, 2021 ).…”

Section: Hospital Wastewater and Biomedical Waste Management In The Context Of Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

An assessment of hospital wastewater and biomedical waste generation, existing legislations, risk assessment, treatment processes, and scenario during COVID-19

Parida

Sikarwar

Majumder

et al. 2022

Journal of Environmental Management

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Hospitals release significant quantities of wastewater (HWW) and biomedical waste (BMW), which hosts a wide range of contaminants that can adversely affect the environment if left untreated. The COVID-19 outbreak has further increased hospital waste generation over the past two years. In this context, a thorough literature study was carried out to reveal the negative implications of untreated hospital waste and delineate the proper ways to handle them. Conventional treatment methods can remove only 50%–70% of the emerging contaminants (ECs) present in the HWW. Still, many countries have not implemented suitable treatment methods to treat the HWW in-situ. This review presents an overview of worldwide HWW generation, regulations, and guidelines on HWW management and highlights the various treatment techniques for efficiently removing ECs from HWW. When combined with advanced oxidation processes, biological or physical treatment processes could remove around 90% of ECs. Analgesics were found to be more easily removed than antibiotics, β-blockers, and X-ray contrast media. The different environmental implications of BMW have also been highlighted. Mishandling of BMW can spread infections, deadly diseases, and hazardous waste into the environment. Hence, the different steps associated with collection to final disposal of BMW have been delineated to minimize the associated health risks. The paper circumscribes the multiple aspects of efficient hospital waste management and may be instrumental during the COVID-19 pandemic when the waste generation from all hospitals worldwide has increased significantly.

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Section: Hospital Wastewater and Biomedical Waste Management In The Context Of Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

An assessment of hospital wastewater and biomedical waste generation, existing legislations, risk assessment, treatment processes, and scenario during COVID-19

Parida

Sikarwar

Majumder

et al. 2022

Journal of Environmental Management

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“…PPEs are largely used to prevent the transmission of the virus and their use is enforced in most countries ( Siam et al, 2020 ). Due to the unprecedented nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, solid waste management practices and infrastructure around the world lacked sufficient capacity and strategies to treat and promote the correct disposal of PPEs ( Haque et al, 2021 ; Patrício Silva et al, 2021 ), thus resulting in PPEs littering the streets ( Akarsu et al, 2021 ; Ammendolia et al, 2021 ; Fadare and Okoffo, 2020 ), canals ( Aragaw, 2020 ), coastal sites ( Ben-Haddad et al, 2021 ; De-la-Torre et al, 2021a ; De-la-Torre et al, 2022 ; Mghili et al, 2021 ; Rakib et al, 2021 ), and terrestrial environments ( Kwak and An, 2021 ) in multiple countries. Most PPEs are made of various synthetic non-degradable polymers ( Aragaw, 2020 ; Fadare and Okoffo, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal protective equipment (PPE) pollution driven by the COVID-19 pandemic along the shoreline of Lake Tana, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Aragaw

De-la-Torre

Teshager

2022

Science of The Total Environment

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Personal protective equipment (PPE) pollution has become one of the most pending environmental challenges resulting from the pandemic. While various studies investigated PPE pollution in the marine environment, freshwater bodies have been largely overlooked. In the present study, PPE monitoring was carried out in the vicinity of Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia. PPE density, types, and chemical composition (FTIR spectroscopy) were reported. A total of 221 PPEs were identified with a density ranging from 1.22 × 10 −5 PPE m −2 (control site S1) to 2.88× 10 −4 PPE m −2 with a mean density of 1.54 × 10 −4 ± 2.58 × 10 −5 PPE m −2 . Mismanaged PPE waste was found in all the sampling sites, mostly consisting of surgical face masks (93.7%). Statistical analyzes revealed significantly higher PPE densities in sites where several recreational, touristic, and commercial activities take place, thus, revealing the main sources of PPE pollution. Furthermore, polypropylene and polyester fabrics were identified as the main components of surgical and reusable cloth masks, respectively. Given the hazard that PPEs represent to aquatic biota (e.g., entanglement, ingestion) and their ability to release microplastics (MPs), it is necessary to implement sufficient solid waste management plans and infrastructure where lake activities take place. Additionally, local authorities must promote and ensure sustainable tourism in order to maintain the ecosystems in Lake Tana. Prospective research priorities regarding the colonization and degradation of PPE, as well as the release of toxic chemicals, were identified and discussed.

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“…Environmental pollution with PPE has been expected due to their excessive use and weakening of solid waste management systems. It was estimated that ~3.5 million metric tons (MT) of face masks ended up in landfills worldwide in the first year of the pandemic ( Patrício Silva et al, 2021a ). Nevertheless, a significant amount may leak into the oceans and natural environments, which is estimated between 0.15 and 0.39 million MT per year ( Chowdhury et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Ppe Pollution Sampling Methods and Main Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of plastics associated with the COVID-19 pandemic

Pizarro-Ortega

Dioses-Salinas

Severini

et al. 2022

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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An urgent call to think globally and act locally on landfill disposable plastics under and after covid-19 pandemic: Pollution prevention and technological (Bio) remediation solutions

Cited by 69 publications

References 92 publications

An assessment of hospital wastewater and biomedical waste generation, existing legislations, risk assessment, treatment processes, and scenario during COVID-19

An assessment of hospital wastewater and biomedical waste generation, existing legislations, risk assessment, treatment processes, and scenario during COVID-19

Personal protective equipment (PPE) pollution driven by the COVID-19 pandemic along the shoreline of Lake Tana, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Degradation of plastics associated with the COVID-19 pandemic

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