Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) induced waste scenario: A short overview

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown situation have shown both positive and negative effects on the environmental aspects. With an unprecedented rate the different types of waste volume have up surged along with the COVID-19 contamination rate. As the situation has mandated people as well as the most infected persons to stay at home, the amount of generated hazardous waste is 3.40 kg that can be expected daily from each infected person. China and other countries have seen a massive increment in the hazardous waste generation (about 600 % increase in Hubei province) amount. While dealing with this sudden increase in waste amount, the conventional incineration facilities have been outstripped and waste management industry is facing an immense pressure over handling hazardous waste generated from COVID-19 infected patients. Alongside with the hazardous waste volume, single-use plastic items and personal protective equipment (PPEs) have induced a new type of "PPE pollution" in the land and aquatic environment. The current review provides a countrywide waste generation amount, estimated using the infected number of cases for some selected countries. In contrast with the poor waste management noticed during this pandemic, some suggested approaches towards a better waste management service and future implications of waste management are discussed with viable consideration for the waste workers.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hazardous waste; Medical waste; Plastic waste; Pollution; Single-use plastic.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the waste management sector (drawn based on IFC, 2020).

Fig. 2

Map showing the simultaneous increase in (a) hazardous waste volume along with (b) infected number of cases in different divisions of Bangladesh. Dhaka, the capital city has the highest no. of infected cases together with the increased amount of hazardous waste volume. Waste amount estimated using Eq. (1) from infected cases data - ranging from 15 April to 19 June 2020 (http://dashboard.dghs.gov.bd/webportal/pages/covid19.php#).

Fig. 3

(a) Discarded apron after use disposed in front of the public hospital ground of Chittagong; (b) Used surgical hand gloves, PE bags and other SUP items are dumped at the adjacent roadside of a COVID-19 dedicated public healthcare facility of Chittagong; (c) A prospective surge in single use cups (i.e. SUP items) during this pandemic period are seen prevalent at the roadside shops which left dumped in roadsides, unattended by the waste collectors, washed away by rainwater, clogging the drainage, and finally find its way to the waterbodies; (d) Waste workers collected municipal solid waste (MSW) from houses without any sort of PPEs during the outbreak in Bangladesh.

Fig. 4

(a) Prevailing solid waste management system in Bangladesh (drawn based on [78,79]); (b) Existing medical waste management system of Bangladesh (drawn after [38]).

Fig. 5

Graphical representation of emergency on-site waste burial pit for the safe management of COVID-19 related hazardous waste (drawn after [51]).

Fig. 6

Effective disinfection techniques to transform the used PPEs into its reusable form (drawn based on [57]).

Fig. 7

Hazardous household and medical waste management during COVID-19 period (drawn based on [75,15,80]).

Fig. 8

Alternative approaches in MSW management service during the pandemic and post pandemic period (drawn based on [61]).

Fig. 9

Distinct features that need to be integrated in the waste management sector for the safe management of COVID-19 induced waste.