Challenges and Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Waste Management Systems: A Review

Abstract

Unfortunately, nearly the whole world came to a standstill due to the coronavirus disease 2019, i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic, which negatively and severely impacted almost all facets of society, systems, and lives on the planet during the last few years. During this time, a surge in the generation of a huge volume of diverse wastes at an unprecedented rate occurred due to the extensive use of disposables and personal shielding safety gear such as personal protective equipment (PPE) for both infected and uninfected people as well as frontline staff, etc., as corona protocols, especially in the form of “plastic wastes”. Consequently, all these factors induced a novel route for the pollution of air, soil, and water, inviting a great number of health hazards in addition to the pandemic. Beyond a doubt, the susceptibility of the spread of the coronavirus through polluted waste is high, an issue for which the waste management measures are comparatively not up to the mark. The spread of COVID-19 forced the world into lockdown, which had both constructive and unconstructive effects on not only the environment but also systems such as the waste management sector, etc. The unforeseen increase in the quantity of waste created a challenge concerning normal waste disposal facilities, negatively impacting the global waste management industry, and hence, leading to an urgent situation internationally. Still, in developing nations, the sector of waste management is at its nascent stage, and therefore, the sector of waste management during the pandemic period has been influenced severely in many parts of the world. The current comprehensive review provides not only an overview of the impacts and challenges of COVID-19 on the waste management sector but also extends the systematic data of waste generation that has been made accessible so far along with a discussion on the safety of the related workers and staff as well as suggestions for the possible approaches towards better waste management services, which are essential to manage the waste increase resultant of the COVID-19 pandemic in a majority of nations.

Generation, types and impacts of biomedical waste during COVID-19: Indian context

“…While cleaning, disinfecting, or providing care and/or treatment for COVID-19 patients, gloves are important and necessary. Medical personnel must wear two or three layers of surgical gloves when entering high-risk areas to protect themselves from infection [ 23 ]. When using various tools that aid in diagnosis and treatment, it is crucial to use goggles and protective face shields or screens to safeguard those who might be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious fluids or viruses.…”

Microneedles for Efficient and Precise Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy

“…However, it cannot be fully reduced or avoided as most medical devices require proper sterility. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has caused a spike in medical waste with the constant need for masks, gloves and needles due to vaccinations [ 70 ]. The unsafe disposal of sharp medical wastes, especially hypodermic needles, is also another major concern [ 68 ].…”

A hybrid machine learning-mathematical programming optimization approach for municipal solid waste management during the pandemic

“…The increase in the generation of MSW during the pandemic carries different social and environmental risks (Luhar et al, 2022 ). Face masks, syringes, and surgical gloves, among others, were the first line of defense against COVID-19, and because of this, once used, they represent a great risk to anyone who may come into contact with these residues (Singh et al, 2022 ), at the same time, it reduces the possibilities of reuse or treatment thanks to established medical waste treatment guidelines, which makes medical waste a growing problem in the world (Hou et al, 2022 ); since the disposal and utilization of medical waste, even in developed countries, has not been explicitly planned (Le et al, 2022 ).…”