Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 28;20(5):4310. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20054310.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic posed many global challenges, mainly in the healthcare sector; however, the impacts on other vital sectors cannot be overlooked. The waste sector was one of the significantly impacted sectors during the pandemic, as it dramatically changed the dynamics of waste generation. Inadequate waste management practices during COVID-19 shed light on the opportunities for developing systematic, sustainable, and resilient waste infrastructure in the future. This study aimed to exploit the learnings of COVID-19 to identify any potential opportunities in post-pandemic waste infrastructure. A comprehensive review on existing case studies was conducted to understand the waste generation dynamics and the waste management strategies during COVID-19. Infectious medical waste from healthcare facilities had the largest influx of waste compared with non-medical waste from residential and other sectors. This study then identified five key opportunities from a long-term operational perspective: considering healthcare waste sector as a critical area of focus; encouraging the integration and decentralization of waste management facilities; developing systematic and novel approaches and tools for quantifying waste; shifting towards a circular economy approach; and modernizing policies to improve the effectiveness of the post-pandemic waste management infrastructure.
新冠疫情大流行带来了诸多全球性挑战，主要集中在医疗保健领域；然而，其对其他重要领域的影响也不容忽视。废物处理行业是疫情期间受重大影响的行业之一，因为疫情极大地改变了废物产生的动态。在新冠疫情期间，废物管理不善的情况突显了未来发展系统性、可持续性和有弹性废物基础设施的机会。本研究旨在利用新冠疫情的经验教训，确定后疫情时代废物基础设施方面的任何潜在机会。为此，对现有案例研究进行了全面审查，以了解疫情期间的废物产生动态和废物管理策略。与来自住宅和其他部门的非医疗废物相比，医疗机构的传染性医疗废物的废物流入量最大。从长期运营角度来看，本研究确定了五个关键机会：将医疗废物处理行业视为重点关注领域；鼓励废物处理设施的整合和分散化；开发用于量化废物的系统和新颖方法及工具；转向循环经济方法；以及使政策现代化以提高后疫情时代废物管理基础设施的效率。
