Repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical waste management

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global outbreak that also changes the generation of medical waste in hospital. The increasing number of people infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) virus indirectly requires the management of infectious waste from patients to be safe and not have the potential to spread. The purpose of this study was to analyze the medical waste management in a hospital located in Jakarta City, Indonesia. This study employed direct observation and used secondary data in the analysis. Meanwhile, to determine the effect of the population infected with SARS-Cov-2 on medical generation, One Way ANOVA analysis was used. Data from May, 2020 showed that medical waste generation increased from 25.6 kg/month to 192.3 kg/month. The ANOVA significance test showed a value of 0.013; this indicates that the number of the infected population significantly affects the generation of medical waste. Medical waste that found during a pandemic becomes more complex, including hazmat clothes, masks, gloves, medical headgear, used bandages, injection and infusion equipment, eating and drinking utensils for patients exposed to COVID-19, and used swab and rapid test equipment.

Current Situation of Solid Waste Management to Archive Sustainability in Klungkung Regency, Bali

“…In the Klungkung area there was a decrease in waste generation during the pandemic. But the waste of masks needs to be considered and must be managed like hazardous waste, its infectious nature (Dhia et al, 2022).…”

Planning of Fly Trap for Temporary Domestic Waste in Hospital to Reduce the Intensity of Fly

“…It can be said that the number of waste humans produce daily is organic and inorganic (Ayilara et al, 2020). Existing waste can cause flies' growth and harm environmental health (Dhia et al, 2022).…”

“…This will grow various disease vectors that interfere with the population's health, originating from flies. Diarrhea is still the leading cause of child death (Das et al, 2014). Environmental conditions for breeding flies are near human and animal feces, waste generation, and processed food scraps (Amrul et al, 2022).…”

Optimizing Hospital Waste Management through Fly Trap Technology: A Cost and Potential Problem Analysis

“…The hospital is part of the overall healthcare system that organizes health service activities that are promotive (health development), preventive (disease prevention), curative (disease treatment), and rehabilitative (health restoration) activities [1]. Furthermore, hospitals in outpatient, inpatient, emergency, medical, and non-medical services use technology that can affect the surrounding environment, so it is mandatory to maintain and improve environmental health efforts [2].…”