Repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic on solid waste generation and management strategies

Abstract

It has been over ten months since the beginning of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-2019), and its impact on solid waste management, especially medical waste, is becoming clearer. This study systematically reviews the potential influences of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical waste, personal protection equipment waste and municipal solid waste (MSW), and discusses the corresponding measures and policies of solid waste management in typical countries. The results show that the generation of medical waste from the pandemic increased significantly, with 18%–425% growth. It is estimated that the daily output of COVID-19 medical waste increased from 200 t/d on Feb. 22 to over 29000 t/d at the end of September 2020 throughout the world. The use of personal protective equipment will continue to grow in the long-term, while the blockade and isolation measures greatly reduced the volume of commercial waste, especially for tourist cities, and part of this waste was transferred to household waste. Residents’ attitudes and behavior toward food waste have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, international organizations and several countries have issued new policies and guidelines and adjusted their management strategies for medical waste and MSW treatment. The pandemic has brought specific challenges to the disposal capacity of medical waste worldwide. It has also brought about the stagnation of policies related to the reduction of plastic products and waste recycling. This study will provide some useful information for managers and governmental officials on effective solid waste management during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on waste production behavior in Lisbon

“…Sinha et al (2020) also reported that industrial and commercial waste production suffered a decrease due to the slowdown of economic activity, along with a reduction in recycling activities that led to challenges in the collection and disposal of municipal waste. Besides this, the announcement of lockdowns and travel restrictions led to a drop in waste generation, especially in cities with high levels of tourism ( Liang et al, 2021 ).…”

Strategi Pengelolaan Limbah Medis Rumah Tangga Selama Pandemi Covid-19

“…Sementara itu, penelitian di luar negeri mayoritas menunjukkan adanya regulasi serupa dengan cara atau prinsip kerja yang tidak berbeda jauh, namun implementasi di lapangan masih belum sepenuhnya berjalan sesuai dengan regulasi. Hal ini menjadi menarik untuk diteliti sebab terjadinya peningkatan limbah medis yang signifikan dari 18% menjadi 425% tidak diimbangi dengan manajemen yang memadai (Liang et al, 2021). Hasil penelitian di beberapa negara di luar negeri seperti benua Asia, Bangladesh, India, China, Nepal, Romania dan Maroko menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar telah melakukan pengelolaan limbah medis rumah tangga juga belum dilakukan secara maksimal, meskipun terdapat beberapa negara menurut studi Sangkham (2020) bahwa di Thailand telah dilakukan pengelolaan limbah medis rumah tangga dengan cara penyimpnanan limbah medis habis pakai dalam tas Ziplock sebelum dibuang ke tempat sampah dan diangkut ke tempat pembuangan sementara atau akhir.…”

No Time to Waste: Resilient Waste Management Systems Are Needed to Tackle Future Pandemic-like Situations

“…1) Pandemic has changed citizens' habits, bringing some waste generation behavioral trends and new challenges. For instance, lockdown measures have led to an increase in the amount of packaging used for the delivery of food, online shopping, and household groceries (Ganguly & Chakraborty, 2021;Kulkarni & Anantharama, 2020;Liang et al, 2021).…”

“…9) Scholars argue that the temporary interruption of selective collection and recycling and the relaxation of waste policies during the critical pandemic period may negatively affect the waste system in the post-pandemic scenario. Besides, it is worth mentioning that the pandemic has postponed recycling and plastic waste policies (Liang et al, 2021;Penteado & Castro, 2021).…”