Estimation of COVID-19 waste generation and composition in Vietnam for pandemic management

Abstract

Despite its initial success in COVID-19 pandemic control, Vietnam faces a growing risk of outbreaks as new infection waves driven by the highly contagious Delta variant surge in the region. In the context of preparedness through waste management, this study estimated the rate and quantity of generation and the composition of COVID-19 waste in Vietnam from the supply of resources and equipment. Over a year under COVID, 1486 t of COVID-19 waste was produced from the treatment of isolated COVID-19 patients (4.64 kg bed−1 day−1), quarantine in medical facilities (3.86 kg bed−1 day−1), centralised quarantine (46.43 g bed−1 day−1), testing (50 g test−1) and vaccination (10.46 g shot−1). Plastic dominated the waste at 76.7%, followed by paper. The additional management of waste from households with persons under quarantine is likely to reduce infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – contaminated waste. Thorough assessment is recommended for the establishment of regional collaboration to secure COVID-19 waste treatment capacity. These findings will support COVID-19 waste planning in Vietnam in association with pandemic scenarios and could be used as a reference by other developing countries for pandemic control.

Repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical waste management

“…In addition, it is estimated that the volume of waste generated due to the pandemic will increase by up to 30% [11]. As with previous research in Vietnam, during a year under COVID-19, as much as 1,486 tons of COVID-19 waste was generated from the treatment of isolated COVID-19 patients, dominated by plastic waste and then paper waste [12]. In addition, the ratio of infectious waste in hospitals that have been studied previously increased by an average of 9% in the composition of medical waste and 121% compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Comparison Of Covid-19 Medical Waste Management Strategies For Hospitals In Developed And Developing Country

“…The city government is responsible for the waste management of the centralized quarantine facility. The eradication of COVID-19 waste by burning using a medical waste incinerator is currently limited in Vietnam (Nguyen, Kawai and Nakakubo, 2021). Hospitals in Iran do the same, they use high-capacity disinfection equipment to manage the medical waste generated.…”

Evaluation of urban solid-waste generation and safety consciousness of waste collectors amidst COVID-19 pandemic

“…While [ 19 , 20 ] estimate plastic waste generation resulted from single use to be more than 8 million tons during the pandemic period, 25,000 of such plastics end up in global oceans. Prevalence of more plastic waste material was corroborated by [ 18 ], 21 . Contribution of [ 11 ] is on the impact of mechanism of household waste separation attitude of student in post-COVID-19 pandemic, making collection activities and condition of waste collectors was not captured by the study.…”