“…Along with the far-reaching benefits of plastics, their massive consumption and waste mismanagement have led to serious environmental concerns, resulting in the addition of large-scale plastic waste into the environment. The implication of plastics and particulate pollution on the environment has been summarized and corroborated by erudite scholars in various literature (Thompson et al 2009 ; Okunola et al 2019 ) (Suthar et al 2021 ) (Tabish et al 2020 ). Some of these negative effects include the threat to marine animals, which is a significant component of the human food web.…”
Graphical abstract
The unforeseen outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic has significantly stipulated the use of plastics to minimize the exposure and spread of the novel coronavirus. With the onset of the vaccination drive, the issue draws even more attention due to additional demand for vaccine packaging, transport, disposable syringes, and other allied devices scaling up to many million tonnes of plastic. Plastic materials in personal protective equipment (PPE), disposable pharmaceutical devices, and packaging for e-commerce facilities are perceived to be a lifesaver for the frontline healthcare personnel and the general public amidst recurring waves of the pandemic. However, the same material poses a threat as an evil environmental polluter when attributed to its indiscriminate and improper littering as well as mismanagement. The review not only highlights the environmental consequences due to the excessive use of disposable plastics amidst COVID-19 but also recommends mixed approaches to its management by adopting the combined and step-by-step methodology of adequate segregation, sterilization, sanitization activities, technological intervention, and process optimization measures. The overview finally concludes with some crucial way-forward measures and recommendations like the development of bioplastics and focusing on biodegradable/bio-compostable material alternatives to holistically deal with future pandemics.
“…Along with the far-reaching benefits of plastics, their massive consumption and waste mismanagement have led to serious environmental concerns, resulting in the addition of large-scale plastic waste into the environment. The implication of plastics and particulate pollution on the environment has been summarized and corroborated by erudite scholars in various literature (Thompson et al 2009 ; Okunola et al 2019 ) (Suthar et al 2021 ) (Tabish et al 2020 ). Some of these negative effects include the threat to marine animals, which is a significant component of the human food web.…”
Graphical abstract
The unforeseen outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic has significantly stipulated the use of plastics to minimize the exposure and spread of the novel coronavirus. With the onset of the vaccination drive, the issue draws even more attention due to additional demand for vaccine packaging, transport, disposable syringes, and other allied devices scaling up to many million tonnes of plastic. Plastic materials in personal protective equipment (PPE), disposable pharmaceutical devices, and packaging for e-commerce facilities are perceived to be a lifesaver for the frontline healthcare personnel and the general public amidst recurring waves of the pandemic. However, the same material poses a threat as an evil environmental polluter when attributed to its indiscriminate and improper littering as well as mismanagement. The review not only highlights the environmental consequences due to the excessive use of disposable plastics amidst COVID-19 but also recommends mixed approaches to its management by adopting the combined and step-by-step methodology of adequate segregation, sterilization, sanitization activities, technological intervention, and process optimization measures. The overview finally concludes with some crucial way-forward measures and recommendations like the development of bioplastics and focusing on biodegradable/bio-compostable material alternatives to holistically deal with future pandemics.
“… Fig. 2 Schematic of wastewater based epidemiological surveillance (Source: Suthar et al, 2021 ; Randazzo et al, 2020b ) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier. Fig.…”
Section: Perspectives and Challenges Of Wastewater-based Epidemiologymentioning
The present work summarizes the major research findings related to wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) study of COVID-19 and puts forward a conceptual framework, termed as â
Surveillance of Wastewater for Early Epidemic Prediction (SWEEP)
â for implementation of WBE. SWEEP framework is likely to tackle few practical issues related to WBE and simultaneously proposes refinements to the approach for better outcome and efficiency to save precious lives around the globe. It is observed that the present pandemic offers an opportunity for SWEEP to get included in routine urban water management to put the humankind at front to stop such pandemic in future or at least be prepared to fight against it. With global collaboration, SWEEP can be fine-tuned to meet diverse needs, making the present and future generations resilient to future viral outbreaks. Recent WBE studies conducted to check for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater revealed that raw sewage samples tested positive to PCR-based assays while the treated samples showed absence of viral titers. Moreover, the lockdown had a positive impact on decreasing the viral loading in sewage. The proposed SWEEP protocol has an advantage over testifying individuals for predicting the stage of pandemic.
“…COVID-19, a new disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a public concern, prevalent all over the world, and killing countless people [ [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] ]. To date, various systems including antimicrobial metallic, metal oxide nanoparticles, and other antiviral materials were employed to fight against microorganisms [ [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ].…”
The global epidemic owing to COVID-19 has generated awareness to ensuring best practices for avoiding the microorganisms spread. Indeed, due to the increase in infections caused by bacteria and viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, the global demand for antimicrobial materials is growing. New technologies by employing polymeric systems are of great interest. Virus transmission by contaminated surfaces leads to the spread of infectious diseases, so, antimicrobial coatings are significant in this regard. Moreover, antimicrobial food packaging is beneficial to prevent the spread of microorganisms during food processing and transportation. Further, antimicrobial textiles show an effective role. We aim to provide a review of prepared antimicrobial polymeric materials for use in coating, food packaging, and textile during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic.
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