Municipal solid waste management under Covid-19: challenges and recommendations

Abstract

COVID-19 is proving to be an unprecedented disaster for human health, social contacts and the economy worldwide. It is evident that SARS-CoV-2 may spread through municipal solid waste (MSW), if collected, bagged, handled, transported or disposed of inappropriately. Under the stress placed by the current pandemic on the sanitary performance across all MSW management (MSWM) chains, this industry needs to re-examine its infrastructure resilience with respect to all processes, from waste identification, classification, collection, separation, storage, transportation, recycling, treatment and disposal. The current paper provides an overview of the severe challenges placed by COVID-19 onto MSW systems, highlighting the essential role of waste management in public health protection during the ongoing pandemic. It also discusses the measures issued by various international organisations and countries for the protection of MSWM employees (MSWEs), identifying gaps, especially for developing countries, where personal protection equipment and clear guidelines to MSWEs may not have been provided, and the general public may not be well informed. In countries with high recycling rates of MSW, the need to protect MSWEs' health has affected the supply stream of the recycling industry. The article concludes with recommendations for the MSW industry operating under public health crisis conditions.

Management of environmental health to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19

“…This disaster may spread through medical treatment wastes if managed inappropriately. 110 Accordingly, the following conclusions and recommendations are presented: Improvements in waste collection methods should be developed to minimize human contact. This can be achieved by employing automatic collection systems, including pneumatic machines.…”

“… 119 Accordingly, more research studies are required to investigate the viability of viruses in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, which could be found in landfills, digesters, and composting sites. Finally, the preparedness and response to the pandemic in the waste management sector should consider and assess many issues such as 110 the levels of disinfectant and chemical concentration in MSW during the COVID-19 pandemic in the last year; the effect of the disinfectants on the microorganism’s activities during MSW degradation, as well as trihalomethane generation; The characteristics of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) usually generated during the heat treatment of solid wastes; recycling some disinfected/sterilized nonbiodegradable wastes such as gloves, masks, and protective equipment to produce some composite construction materials; and investigating the mechanisms of virus transport and factors affecting its activation in landfill wall material in addition to soil and groundwater. …”

Smart textiles and wearable technologies – opportunities offered in the fight against pandemics in relation to current COVID-19 state

“…It is clear from the above that in the future, one should think of smart and intelligent PPE that not only protects but also detects, is capable of self-decontamination along with being comfortable, durable, and possibly biodegradable [163]. During the COVID-19 the waste products increase [164][165][166] rising many new challenges for the pulp and paper industry [167]. Biodegradable nonwovens are often based on polylactic acids (PLA) or any natural fibers being extensively developed in recent years [168][169][170][171][172].…”

Discussion on ‘Challenges, opportunities, and innovations for effective solid waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic, by Sharma et al. (2020)’

“…(2020) on the transition to the centralized M&HCW management system (in the absence of the regulations) to comply with the pollution standards because transportation of infected M&HCW to the central facility would seek more human involvement and thus more chances for the spread of infection. This risk of spread of disease will increase with the aerosol formation during transportation if proper care is not taken ( Vaverková et al., 2020 ). Hence, decentralized facilities/on-site treatment are much practicable to manage SARS-CoV-2 laden M&HCW under pandemic situations, and portable incinerators would be prudent in this context ( Vaverková et al., 2020 ).…”

“…This risk of spread of disease will increase with the aerosol formation during transportation if proper care is not taken ( Vaverková et al., 2020 ). Hence, decentralized facilities/on-site treatment are much practicable to manage SARS-CoV-2 laden M&HCW under pandemic situations, and portable incinerators would be prudent in this context ( Vaverková et al., 2020 ). However, per capita gross domestic product influences the economic sustainability of such facilities that need prior consideration.…”