Medical Waste during COVID-19 Pandemic: Its Types, Abundance, Impacts and Implications

Tang, Kuok Ho Daniel

doi:10.53623/idwm.v2i2.117

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The waste generation rate has increased dramatically as a result of COVID-19, reaching 3.4 kg/person/day. The private emergency clinics in Delhi were found to generate medical waste at a rate of 0.5 kg to 4 kg per bed each day [ 18 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Face masks, aprons, rubber boots, shoe covers, gloves, face shields, medical test kits, and plastic containers included the essential PPE for medical staff caring for patients with COVID-19 [ 20 ]. Throughout COVID-19, masks have been extensively utilized as a key defence against the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is responsible for COVID-19, while PPE including gloves and coverall suits were mostly used by medical staff [ 18 ]. Moreover, using COVID-19 testing apparatus generated a lot of medical waste.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, using COVID-19 testing apparatus generated a lot of medical waste. For COVID-19, mouth and nasal swabs have been utilized consistently during screening and other needed testing [ 18 ]. 89 million medical masks, 76 million gloves, and 1.6 million medical goggles were expected to be needed each month of this pandemic, according to WHO modelling [ 21 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Generation, types and impacts of biomedical waste during COVID-19: Indian context

Shefali

2023

Environ Anal Health Toxicol

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India's already-stressed waste disposal system has been strained by the COVID-19 outbreak. The challenge of managing biomedical Waste (BMW) in India has become more complicated in recent years, mainly due to the sudden emergence of COVID-19. As a methodology, a literature review was carried out with the help of Google Scholar, Research Gate, PubMed, and academic journal databases. Additionally, publications from numerous non-academic sources (such as news websites etc.) and current guidelines, such as those from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, were also accessed. The review study identifies that PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) made up the majority of biomedical waste, followed by vaccine waste, during the peak of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The increase in PPEs such as face masks, aprons, face shields, gloves, goggles, and sanitizers, as well as other medical waste like bandages, plastic containers, syringes, testing kits, and tissues, has significantly changed the makeup of the BMW. This pandemic has hampered the proper management of solid waste, which has now surfaced as a major threat to developing countries. In this paper, biomedical waste management strategies followed in India and its disposal methods, cost-effective and environment-friendly methods to treat medical waste are also discussed.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Generation, types and impacts of biomedical waste during COVID-19: Indian context

Shefali

2023

Environ Anal Health Toxicol

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“…3 It has been demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 can survive on porous materials for up to 2 days, 4 and on non-porous surfaces for up to 7 days, turning them into potential sources of infection. 5 To prevent the spread of the virus, hospitals are forced to dispose of several tons of contaminated hospital materials that could not be disinfected for safe reuse during the pandemic, 6 thus increasing the generation of waste around the world by 400–500%. 7 This led to severe shortages of medical supplies with drastic consequences for patient care.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Enveloped and Non-Enveloped Viruses with Non-Thermal Plasma for Hospital Disinfection

Sahun

Privat-Maldonado

Lin

et al. 2023

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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As recently highlighted by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, viruses have become an increasing burden for health, global economy, and environment. The control of transmission by contact with contaminated materials represents a major challenge, particularly in hospital environments. However, the current disinfection methods in hospital settings suffer from numerous drawbacks. As a result, several medical supplies that cannot be properly disinfected are not reused, leading to severe shortages and increasing amounts of waste, thus prompting the search for alternative solutions. In this work, we report that nonthermal plasma (NTP) can effectively inactivate SARS-CoV-2 from non-porous and porous materials commonly found in healthcare facilities. We demonstrated that 5 min treatment with a dielectric barrier discharge NTP can inactivate 100% of SARS-CoV-2 (Wuhan and Omicron strains) from plastic material. Using porcine respiratory coronavirus (surrogate for SARS-CoV-2) and coxsackievirus B3 (highly resistant non-enveloped virus), we tested the NTP virucidal activity on hospital materials and obtained complete inactivation after 5 and 10 min, respectively. We hypothesize that the produced reactive species and local acidification contribute to the overall virucidal effect of NTP. Our results demonstrate the potential of dielectric barrier discharge NTPs for the rapid, efficient, and low-cost disinfection of healthcare materials.

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“…The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, for instance, produced 11% of mismanaged macroplastics and 35% of mismanaged microplastics in 2019 [6]. There was an obvious increase in the plastic waste generated during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when travel restrictions were imposed, mainly because of the packaging associated with higher orders of takeaway, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly masks, as well as the hike in ancillary plastic waste linked to the medical waste stream [7]. In terms of per capita plastic waste generation, the United States recorded the highest with 221 kg/person/year, while the Japanese and Koreans generated approximately 60 kg of plastic waste per person, respectively, annually [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Valorization of Plastic Waste through Incorporation into Construction Materials

Tang

2022

Civil Sustain. Urban Eng.

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The growing plastic pollution has prompted the quest to reduce plastic waste sustainably and control the mismanaged plastic stream. The valorization of plastic waste through reusing and recycling has received much attention as a sustainable solution to the global plastic problem, and the construction sector provides an important avenue for such an endeavor. This review aims to present the latest advances in the valorization of plastic waste as construction and building materials through the review of 60 relevant scholarly papers and a content analysis of the papers. In the construction sector, plastic waste can be valorized as additives or raw materials for brick production. As additives, plastic waste is added at different proportions (1%–70%) with other materials, including non-plastic waste, followed by curing to acquire the desired properties. Plastic waste is used as a raw material to contain strength-imparting materials. The former has been reported to have good strengths (5.15-55.91 MPa), chemical, and thermal resistance, whereas the latter may impart lower strengths (0.67-15.25 MPa). Plastic waste is also used as additives for road pavement, primarily as substitutes for concrete-making materials, and was observed to produce desirable strengths (0.95–35 MPa) at appropriate proportions (0.5–25%), indicating the importance of optimizing the plastic contents in the concrete. Plastic waste has been recycled as plastic lumber, plastic-based door panels and gates, as well as insulation materials. Plastic-based construction materials are generally lightweight, resistant to chemicals and heat, and have good sound insulation, but they may pose a fire safety concern.

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Medical Waste during COVID-19 Pandemic: Its Types, Abundance, Impacts and Implications

Cited by 10 publications

References 41 publications

Generation, types and impacts of biomedical waste during COVID-19: Indian context

Generation, types and impacts of biomedical waste during COVID-19: Indian context

Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Enveloped and Non-Enveloped Viruses with Non-Thermal Plasma for Hospital Disinfection

Valorization of Plastic Waste through Incorporation into Construction Materials

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