Municipal solid waste management under Covid-19: challenges and recommendations

Abstract

COVID-19 is proving to be an unprecedented disaster for human health, social contacts and the economy worldwide. It is evident that SARS-CoV-2 may spread through municipal solid waste (MSW), if collected, bagged, handled, transported or disposed of inappropriately. Under the stress placed by the current pandemic on the sanitary performance across all MSW management (MSWM) chains, this industry needs to re-examine its infrastructure resilience with respect to all processes, from waste identification, classification, collection, separation, storage, transportation, recycling, treatment and disposal. The current paper provides an overview of the severe challenges placed by COVID-19 onto MSW systems, highlighting the essential role of waste management in public health protection during the ongoing pandemic. It also discusses the measures issued by various international organisations and countries for the protection of MSWM employees (MSWEs), identifying gaps, especially for developing countries, where personal protection equipment and clear guidelines to MSWEs may not have been provided, and the general public may not be well informed. In countries with high recycling rates of MSW, the need to protect MSWEs' health has affected the supply stream of the recycling industry. The article concludes with recommendations for the MSW industry operating under public health crisis conditions.

The Economic, Climate Change and Public Health Edges of the Geopolitics of COVID-19: An Exploratory Bibliometric Analysis

“…Private firms, of course, are about making a buck but that is that one of the reasons why individuals were not ready for this outbreak. The problem is that governments have entirely delegated to the private pharmaceutical industry the research and development of the weapons against pathogens and other diseases [23,24].…”

“…Councils and the waste and recycling industry continue to provide waste services to the public. Like any business, some disruptions may occur from time-to-time due to physical distancing requirements, but they are not restricted activities and remain operating [24]. The regular curbside bin collections, such as recycling, household and garden waste continue as usual.…”

Smart textiles and wearable technologies – opportunities offered in the fight against pandemics in relation to current COVID-19 state

“…It is clear from the above that in the future, one should think of smart and intelligent PPE that not only protects but also detects, is capable of self-decontamination along with being comfortable, durable, and possibly biodegradable [163]. During the COVID-19 the waste products increase [164][165][166] rising many new challenges for the pulp and paper industry [167]. Biodegradable nonwovens are often based on polylactic acids (PLA) or any natural fibers being extensively developed in recent years [168][169][170][171][172].…”

Discussion on ‘Challenges, opportunities, and innovations for effective solid waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic, by Sharma et al. (2020)’

“…(2020) on the transition to the centralized M&HCW management system (in the absence of the regulations) to comply with the pollution standards because transportation of infected M&HCW to the central facility would seek more human involvement and thus more chances for the spread of infection. This risk of spread of disease will increase with the aerosol formation during transportation if proper care is not taken ( Vaverková et al., 2020 ). Hence, decentralized facilities/on-site treatment are much practicable to manage SARS-CoV-2 laden M&HCW under pandemic situations, and portable incinerators would be prudent in this context ( Vaverková et al., 2020 ).…”

“…This risk of spread of disease will increase with the aerosol formation during transportation if proper care is not taken ( Vaverková et al., 2020 ). Hence, decentralized facilities/on-site treatment are much practicable to manage SARS-CoV-2 laden M&HCW under pandemic situations, and portable incinerators would be prudent in this context ( Vaverková et al., 2020 ). However, per capita gross domestic product influences the economic sustainability of such facilities that need prior consideration.…”