Institute of Energy and Power Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China; Department of Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia.
State Key Laboratory for Clean Energy Utilization, Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
J Environ Manage. 2021 May 15;286:112140. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112140. Epub 2021 Feb 8.
The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a global emergency and also has raised issues with waste management practices. This study emphasized the challenges of increased waste disposal during the COVID-19 crisis and its response practices. Data obtained from the scientific research papers, publications from the governments and multilateral organizations, and media reports were used to quantify the effect of the pandemic towards waste generation. A huge increase in the amount of used personal protective equipments (facemasks, gloves, and other protective stuffs) and wide distribution of infectious wastes from hospitals, health care facilities, and quarantined households was found. The amount of food and plastic waste also increased during the pandemic. These factors caused waste treatment facilities to be overwhelmed, forcing emergency treatment and disposals (e.g., co-disposal in a municipal solid waste incinerator, cement kilns, industrial furnaces, and deep burial) to ramp up processing capacity. This paper discussed the ways the operation of those facilities must be improved to cope with the challenge of handling medical waste, as well as working around the restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. The study also highlights the need for short, mid, and longer-term responses towards waste management during the pandemic. Furthermore, the practices discussed in this paper may provide an option for alternative approaches and development of sustainable strategies for mitigating similar pandemics in the future.
新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情已构成全球紧急卫生事件，也对废物管理措施提出了挑战。本研究强调了在新型冠状病毒肺炎危机期间废物处理量增加的挑战及其应对措施。本研究从科学研究论文、政府和多边组织的出版物以及媒体报道中获取数据，以量化疫情对废物产生的影响。结果发现，个人防护设备（口罩、手套和其他防护用品）的使用量大幅增加，且医院、医疗保健设施和隔离家庭产生的传染性废物分布广泛。疫情期间食物和塑料废物的数量也有所增加。这些因素导致废物处理设施不堪重负，迫使紧急处理和处置（例如，在城市固体废物焚烧炉、水泥窑、工业炉和深井中共同处置）提高处理能力。本文讨论了必须改进这些设施的运营方式，以应对处理医疗废物的挑战，以及围绕新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情限制因素来开展工作。该研究还强调了在疫情期间需要对废物管理做出短期、中期和长期应对。此外，本文讨论的实践措施可为未来类似大流行提供替代方法和可持续战略的发展选择。
