Review
Environmental Sciences
Mahmood Yousefi, Vahide Oskoei, Ahmad Jonidi Jafari, Mahdi Farzadkia, Masoumeh Hasham Firooz, Behnaz Abdollahinejad, Javavd Torkashvand
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted waste quantity and management, especially in waste recycling, medical waste management, and infectious disease control. Recognizing these issues is key to planning municipal solid waste management more efficiently and reducing the risk of virus transmission through waste.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tamal Chowdhury, Hemal Chowdhury, Md Salman Rahman, Nazia Hossain, Ashfaq Ahmed, Sadiq M. Sait
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in medical waste generation, particularly from infected and quarantined patients. Bangladesh produced 658.08 tons of medical waste in March 2020 and this escalated to 16,164.74 tons in April 2021. The study also estimated the daily usage of face masks and hand gloves, and simulated potential waste generation from COVID-19 confirmatory tests and vaccination. Multiple guidelines were provided to ensure proper disposal and management of COVID-related wastes in the country.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Rajesh Choudhary, Abhishek Mukhija, Subhash Sharma, Rohitash Choudhary, Ami Chand, Ashok K. Dewangan, Gajendra Kumar Gaurav, Jiri Jaromir Klemes
Summary: The rate of biomedical waste generation has increased exponentially due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In this study, a 3-ply facemask was treated using a solvent extracted from different types of waste plastics through thermal-catalytic pyrolysis. The solvent extracted from (polypropylene + polyethylene) plastic completely dissolved the facemask, while the solvent from ABS plastic was not effective. The global potential of this approach was also evaluated.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Atanu Kumar Das, Md. Nazrul Islam, Md. Morsaline Billah, Asim Sarker
Summary: Healthcare waste management is crucial in reducing the spread of the COVID-19 virus and increasing material recyclability. Different countries have adopted various safety measures to combat healthcare waste contamination, but face challenges. WHO guidelines and proper waste handling help in effectively managing healthcare waste.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yangyang Liang, Qingbin Song, Naiqi Wu, Jinhui Li, Yuan Zhong, Wenlei Zeng
Summary: The study reviews the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical waste, personal protection equipment waste, and municipal solid waste, highlighting the significant increase in medical waste generation. In response to the pandemic, international organizations and countries have issued new policies and guidelines for waste management. Challenges such as disposal capacity for medical waste, plastic reduction policies, and waste recycling have emerged globally during the pandemic.
FRONTIERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ashish Dehal, Atul Narayan Vaidya, Asirvatham Ramesh Kumar
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in biomedical waste (BMW) and plastic waste (PW), posing challenges to waste management infrastructure in developing countries. Policy interventions have helped minimize the improper disposal of pandemic waste, but inadequacy of BMW treatment facilities' capacity is still a concern. Suggestions for better waste management include decontamination and recycling of personal protective equipment, use of alternate materials for PPEs, and efficient incinerators in waste treatment facilities. Monitoring of environmental impacts post-pandemic is crucial.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Siddharthan Selvaraj, Somasundaram Prasadh, Shivkanya Fuloria, Vetriselvan Subramaniyan, Mahendran Sekar, Abdelmoty M. Ahmed, Belgacem Bouallegue, Darnal Hari Kumar, Vipin Kumar Sharma, Mohammad Nazmul Hasan Maziz, Kathiresan V. Sathasivam, Dhanalekshmi U. Meenakshi, Neeraj Kumar Fuloria
Summary: The rise of the COVID-19 outbreak has posed challenges to handling plastic waste. A sustainable and hierarchical plastic management plan is needed to tackle the issue, along with tailored action strategies for different types of plastic waste and countries.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rodrigo Custodio Urban, Liane Yuri Kondo Nakada
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a decrease in solid waste production in major cities in Brazil, but improper handling of medical waste and disposable face masks poses environmental and health risks. The suspension of recycling programs has resulted in a double loss of both economic and environmental impacts.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ekta Singh, Aman Kumar, Rahul Mishra, Sunil Kumar
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of solid waste management as a crucial public health service. The unpredictable changes in waste dynamics globally have put pressure on policymakers to react dynamically to address the challenges faced by the SWM sector. In addition to identifying major problems during the pandemic, the review also suggests potential guidelines for mitigating future pandemics and emphasizes the need for innovative solutions.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiban Kumar Behera, Pabitra Mishra, Anway Kumar Jena, Manojit Bhattacharya, Bhaskar Behera
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant health emergencies and pollution crises, particularly in developing countries with inadequate waste management. Improper waste segregation has led to contamination of water, air, and agricultural fields, facilitating the growth and transmission of disease-causing agents. Short- and long-term solutions are needed to mitigate the adverse effects and address the excessive use of plastics and their products.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mashura Shammi, Arvind Behal, Shafi M. Tareq
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in biomedical waste, posing challenges for countries like Bangladesh and India with limited resources. It is crucial to modify and modernize waste management policies to prevent environmental and community transmission risks. Recommendations include proper occupational health assessments for waste management workers and the installation of suitable capacity incinerators for appropriate waste disposal.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Atanu Kumar Das, Md. Nazrul Islam, Md. Morsaline Billah, Asim Sarker
Summary: Municipal solid waste is an inevitable by-product of human activity and the COVID-19 outbreak has posed challenges to waste management. Various countries are striving to address issues in waste management during the pandemic through safety measures and disinfectants.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Rony Ibne Masud, Kamrul Hassan Suman, Shadia Tasnim, Most Shirina Begum, Mahmudul Hasan Sikder, Md Jamal Uddin, Md Niamul Haque
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in biomedical waste globally. Plastic waste in biomedical waste can be converted into microplastics through various processes, posing a threat to aquatic and terrestrial organisms as well as human health. This article provides a literature review on the origin, quantity, and fate of biomedical waste, and explores the adverse impact of microplastics on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact of microplastics by humans can lead to various chronic diseases affecting multiple organs in the digestive, respiratory, and reproductive systems, an area that has received limited review. There is an urgent need to control and manage biomedical waste in order to reduce the environmental and human health risks posed by microplastics.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Carmenlucia Santos Giordano Penteado, Marco Aurelio Soares de Castro
Summary: The study reviews the main recommendations related to municipal solid waste management during the pandemic, focusing on hygiene routines, use of personal protective equipment, waste segregation, packing and final destination. Brazilian organizations are particularly concerned about waste picker's exposure risks, advising for the temporary suspension of manual waste collection and sorting, implementation of hygiene protocols, etc.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Pon Pavithiran Kuppusamy, Arpit Bhatia, Anmol Verma, Nehal Ratnesh Shah, Prakash Pratyush, Vigneswaran Shanmugarajan, Sung Chul Kim, GaneshKumar Poongavanam, Sakthivadivel Duraisamy
Summary: This study focuses on the pollution impact of biomedical waste (BMW) generation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and proposes strategies for controlling and managing BMW, providing feasible solutions for handling BMW in isolation wards and crematoriums.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
