The Implications and Effects of Medical Waste on Development of Sustainable Society—A Brief Review of the Literature

Abstract

The sustainable development of humanity imposes precise norms regarding the management of natural resources, their extraction, use, and the introduction in a complex, innovative circuit of the waste resulting from exploitation. The paper deals with some aspects related to the sustainable management of general medical waste on the one hand and the medical waste specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand. Medical waste requires special treatment given its impact on the environment and on humanity. The management of activities related to its storage, transport, destruction is an important point in the sustainable development of mankind, especially in the current context of the pandemic. Medical waste is in a continuous increase in quantity and involves many effects in various activity fields. Through a scientometric study in the Web of Science—WOS database, the authors identify clusters of keywords, analyze the articles identified in the WOS and identify the main research directions and existing concepts. Corroborating and interpreting the results obtained, three significant trends of approach to medical waste are identified: M—management (1); E—exposure (2); and D—distribution (3). An extensive map of the concepts is made, a narrow map of the concepts used, and a theoretical map of the concepts. The link between medical waste and the development of a sustainable society is demonstrated, and it is possible to open new research directions. The scientometric research undertaken on 1192 WOS articles that were published in 2020 led to the selection of 32, focused on issues related to hazardous medical waste, especially of COVID-19 patients. Following this approach, the authors were able to see, by comparison, the different forms of management of this waste in different countries, thus being able to contribute to the creation of procedures for the collection, storage, and destruction of this hazardous waste, with direct influence on the environment.

Third-party Logistics in Bio-medical Waste System: a Path Towards a Risk-free Sector

“…Ultimately, it leads towards an increase in time and cost of transportation. Bucătaru et al ( 2021 ), Gur et al ( 2015 ) 3. Unskilled 3PL’s personnel Medical waste contains several contagious particles; hence, skilled and qualified staff are crucial for safe collection and transportation activities.…”

Medical Waste Treatment Technologies for Energy, Fuels, and Materials Production: A Review

“…Moreover, MWTTs depends on the development level of the country. Bucătaru et al [94], found a correlation between the different forms of MWM in different countries, which effects the processes for the collection, storage, and destruction of the HMW. Letho et al [95], found that understanding and practice of MWM by the healthcare workers decreases the lack of proper application of the National guidelines.…”

Pharmaceutical Waste Management Practices in Pharmacies and Medicine Stores: Evidence from Bamenda Health District, Cameroon.

“…The occurrence of pharmaceutical wastes in the environment is an everyday recognized global concern (Costel et al, 2021). Medication disposal is an alarming issue today and gaining more and more awareness from healthcare professionals as well as consumers (Kadam et al, 2016).The strategic attention to grapple with Covid-19 cases will lead to multiple waste generation problems, posing another health risk if not properly handled and disposed (Alrawi et al, 2021;Ejeromedoghene, 2021).Pharmaceutical waste disposal being a critical step in the supply chain, low and high-income countries struggle to implement a disposal system that is affordable, efficient and safe (Kambaet al, 2017).The central challenge is to determine how to dispose of pharmaceutical waste in a manner that is safe for the environment and for public health while still being affordable and effective (Costel et al, 2021).Methods of pharmaceutical waste management and disposal include; incineration, secure landfilling, waste immobilization-encapsulation, waste immobilization-inertization, sewer (Jaseem et al, 2017). Pharmaceuticals are generally disposed of by incineration at high temperatures (above 1200 ° C) (Nyagah et al, 2020).…”