Waste Management during the Covid-19 pandemic
The ongoing pandemic has transformed the way people live around the world and every country’s primary focus (and rightly so) at the moment is saving lives. However, it is also important that due attention is given to the issues arising in connection to the pandemic because they too are capable of creating short and long term issues for people.
One just issue is the waste management. Even before the pandemic waste management was a big problem especially for developing countries and its impact on the environment and the health of the people was being highlighted by the experts. With the onset of the pandemic it was initially thought that given that everyone has been forced into lockdown our environment will get some breather. However, that fantasy soon vanished as it became evident that the disposable face masks and related health care waste management was becoming a huge problem. Management of this hazardous waste is essential to minimize long-term risks to human and environmental health.
A recent publication titled, Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Response to Recovery, produced jointly by UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies; looks into the ongoing waste management practices at healthcare facilities, households and quarantine locations.
This report gives practical information, suggestions and guidelines on healthcare waste management and municipal solid waste management, given the restrictions and limitations imposed by the ongoing pandemic, including lack of human resources, technologies, equipment and funds. It builds on existing and ad-hoc information rapidly extracted from existing documents as well as responses to a national questionnaire survey.
The recommendations can be clustered in two broad categories, one being the immediate considerations which points at effective measures that can be opted for given the current circumstances and limited resources at hand while the other is the long term planning with a special focus on the scenarios of developing countries.
The report considers various approaches, identifies best practices and technologies, and provides recommendations for policy makers and practitioners to improve waste management. Cognizant of local conditions, practices that are operationally and technically plausible are identified and recommendations include ways to adapt existing protocols and practices, at both emergency and recovery stages.
Originally published at https://pk.mashable.com on October 9, 2020.
