Municipal infectious waste during COVID-19 pandemic: trends, impacts, and management

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shifts the characteristics of municipal waste. This paper aims to provide an overview of trends, impacts, and management during the COVID-19 pandemic globally. The increase in the generation of plastic waste and infectious waste is a new challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that the emergence of plastic waste due to the consumption of food delivery becomes an issue in several countries. Despite the increment of plastic waste generation, the mass layoffs contributed to the decrease in the total urban waste generation in general. In addition to plastic waste, a surge of infectious waste from health facilities and household waste originating from residents infected with the SARS-COV-2 virus was observed. This infectious wastewater potentially leads to environmental disturbances to the rivers and oceans. To tackle global environmental concerns, sustainable waste management is required especially in the development of biodegradable personal protective equipment.

Covid-19 and Municipal Solid Waste Management

“…The expectation is towards a slight increase from 2021 to 2022 possibly as the main questions to manage MSW during the pandemic has found an answer. The papers on the second query were published in 11 different journals [93]- [103]. Some of the journals that published papers on the first query have more than one paper.…”

“…[4] Food delivery is contributing to a significant increase of plastic waste during the pandemic [93] Education and training were a significant predictor of health-protective behaviour [22] The presence of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogenic microorganisms in sewage sludge, wastewater, and landfill leachate can hamper the possibility to ensure safe water and public health in economically marginalized countries [23] Compared to 2019, prolonged lockdowns caused larger decreases in the quantity of commercial and construction wastes versus household waste [29] Isolation measures greatly reduced the volume of commercial waste, especially for tourist cities, and part of this waste was transferred to household waste [30] With the increase in soap packaging waste production, soap packaging waste management and recycling become essential to reduce environmental impact [31] Face masks release microplastics, which are directly inhaled during use or transported through the environment. Additional research is needed on that topic [38] The extensive use of personal protective equipment (PPE) driven by the COVID-19 pandemic has become an important contributor to marine plastic pollution [42] Lockdowns have led to higher levels of consumption of packaged products, and of take-away food [43] The use of disinfectant prior to sorting waste, as well as storing waste for 9 days, may help to inactivate the COVID-19 virus, ensuring an appropriate safety level for MSW management [48] The codification of new policies for municipal waste management is necessary [52] Waste treatment facilities were overwhelmed, forcing emergency treatment and disposals (e.g., co-disposal in a municipal solid waste incinerator, cement kilns, industrial furnaces, and deep burial) to ramp up processing capacity [53] In countries with high recycling rates of MSW, the need to protect MSW employees' health has affected the supply stream of the recycling industry [54] The ban on the sale of tobacco products during the lockdown in South Africa did not greatly reduce the number of cigarette butts and associated packaging [101] The check of the completeness of Scopus ® (or similar databases) is easy to do.…”

Planning of single-used mask waste containers as personal protective equipment: a case study of Jakarta City station

“…The prevention of good infectious waste is also an effort to prevent the bad environmental impacts due to the use of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies in Indonesia have also reported environmental impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the presence of PPE as a new composition in marine debris [22]- [24]. During the pandemic, it also causes the pattern of waste generation to change, which means that continuous efforts are needed to reduce the environmental impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic [25]- [27].…”

Hidden Environmental Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination: Waste Management, Treatment, and Global Warming Potential

“…Special facilities are needed from the time the waste is generated (from the cradle) until it is destroyed (to grave) (Figure 2). Covid-19 medical waste needs to be taken seriously (34,35) . Research shows that the cause of Covid-19, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), survives in certain temperature and humidity conditions.…”