Monolina Prokriti, Chowdhury Md Mozammel Hasan, Haque Md Nazmul
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna-9203, Bangladesh.
Heliyon. 2022 Jul;8(7):e09847. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09847. Epub 2022 Jul 7.
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused health crisis and concerns worldwide. The use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been the primary behavioral and policy response to avert the infection of coronavirus. The emergence of the situation resulted in increased production of PPE, creating a surge in plastic pollution and carbon footprint. The consumption of PPEs is unavoidable; however, proper PPE waste disposal plays a vital role in lessening the associated environmental impacts. This study aims to provide an overview of the environmental challenges associated with Covid-19 pandemic faced in the households located at the heart of Bangladesh, Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area. The study determines carbon footprint in terms of carbon emission equivalent and plastic pollution potential associated with PPEs. The study further implies that there is a gap in the 3R Strategy implementation in Bangladesh hindering the nation in achieving UN's SDG-12. The findings depict that the proper implementation of the 3R strategy is fundamental for ensuring more a resilient, sustainable and livable environment in the in-pandemic and post-pandemic era and further emphasizes that a strengthened policy framework, operational environmental policy tools, environmental education, and the society and stakeholders' spontaneous response to the plastic pollution challenge are essentially required.
新冠疫情在全球引发了健康危机和担忧。使用个人防护装备（PPE）一直是预防冠状病毒感染的主要行为和政策应对措施。这种情况的出现导致了个人防护装备产量的增加，造成了塑料污染和碳足迹的激增。个人防护装备的消耗是不可避免的；然而，妥善处理个人防护装备废弃物对于减轻相关环境影响起着至关重要的作用。本研究旨在概述位于孟加拉国中心达卡市公司（DCC）地区的家庭在新冠疫情中面临的环境挑战。该研究确定了与个人防护装备相关的碳排放当量方面的碳足迹以及塑料污染潜力。该研究还表明，孟加拉国在3R战略实施方面存在差距，这阻碍了该国实现联合国可持续发展目标12。研究结果表明，正确实施3R战略对于在疫情期间和疫情后确保更具韧性、可持续和宜居的环境至关重要，并进一步强调，加强政策框架、有效的环境政策工具、环境教育以及社会和利益相关者对塑料污染挑战的自发应对是必不可少的。
