COVID-19 Dramatically Increased Our Global Waste Footprint
The COVID-19 pandemic has generated an extraordinary amount of medical waste across the globe. Countless gloves, cloth face coverings, disposable masks, and other types of personal protective equipment (PPE) have wound up in our parks, rivers, and oceans. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 140 million test kits have been shipped across the globe, resulting in 2,600 tons of garbage mostly in the form of plastic, as well as over 8 billion vaccine doses resulting in 144,000 tons of waste. These estimates do not include COVID-19 supplies acquired outside of the United Nations or COVID-19 waste produced by the general public. All of this extra waste generation has grave implications for human and environmental health.
“The COVID-19 pandemic also resulted in an increased demand for single-use plastics, worsening the already existing plastic pollution problem.”
The colossal amount of medical waste resulting from the pandemic has undoubtedly placed enormous strain on waste management and recycling systems across the globe. With COVID-19 prevention efforts in place and the accompanying economic costs including widespread labor shortages, countries have resorted to using traditional waste management practices like incineration and landfills rather than more sustainable options like recycling. In the United States, many municipalities delayed their recycling efforts, and some communities such as Rock Springs, Wyoming and East Peoria, Illinois fully cut their recycling programs.
Even prior to the pandemic, healthcare facilities could not safely manage waste. Medical garbage was typically burned in incinerators that emit highly toxic pollutants and hazardous ash. This improperly disposed waste is especially dangerous for individuals living near landfills and waste disposal sites, who can be exposed to air pollution resulting from the burning waste as well as poor water quality.
While the sheer volume of waste has overwhelmed waste management and recycling systems, much of what was classified as COVID-19 medical waste could have been recycled. Many countries and waste disposal facilities mistakenly identified COVID-19 waste as hazardous. Most medical waste like gloves, gowns, and swabs should ideally be sterilized and then recycled. For example, COVID-19 waste in New Delhi, India was mistakenly labeled as infectious, which almost quadrupled the amount of waste discarded during the height of an outbreak in May, 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic also resulted in an increased demand for single-use plastics, worsening the already existing plastic pollution problem. Plastic waste can be easily transported throughout bodies of water and subsequently consumed by marine wildlife, threatening their health and well-being. In fact, it is predicted that of all pandemic-related plastics, 28.8% will end up on the ocean floor and 70.5% will remain on our beaches by the end of the century.
While the COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaps in global waste management infrastructure, it presents an opportunity to build climate-resilient healthcare systems. The World Health Organization has established a series of recommendations to better manage healthcare waste. Using reusable materials, investing in waste treatment technologies, and strengthening recycling operations are all feasible ways to mitigate the impact of plastics on human and environmental health. Healthcare entities should also limit the use of incinerators, which are huge contributors to air pollution, and promote the use of autoclaves, which are less energy intensive and do not emit hazardous pollutants.
Opportunities to achieve equity also exist in the construction of climate-resilient healthcare systems. 30% of all healthcare facilities and 60% of healthcare facilities in the least developed countries are currently not prepared to handle the additional waste brought on by the pandemic, let alone waste generated prior to the pandemic. Across the globe, 30% of healthcare facilities do not separate hazardous waste from non-hazardous waste. In the least-developed countries that figure climbs to 50%. Moreover, less than one-third of healthcare facilities in the least-developed countries operate a basic waste management service for used healthcare materials. Developing countries also tend to have waste workers that are not as well trained or protected as waste workers in developed countries.
Establishing more dependable infrastructure that sustainably manages healthcare waste will help address the climate crisis and advance population health equity. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is already taking steps to confront the climate crisis while promoting health equity. Additional funding resulting from the pandemic has enabled the Ministry of Health to invest in water, sanitation, and health (WASH) strategies, including the implementation of basic health care waste management regulations, and infrastructure. This funding will help fill cracks in WASH infrastructure while making healthcare systems more resilient to the impacts of climate change.