Solid Household and Medical Wastes and COVID-19 Pandemic: An Overview

Abstract

Introduction: This overview provides information on epidemiological aspects of solid waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes the contribution of health care to the increase in the global waste generation and its impact on environmental pollution. It also highlights up-to-date methods of countering the biological threat of pollution with solid household and medical wastes contaminated by SARS-CoV-2. Objective: To analyze publications on changes in the structure and amount of waste during the pandemic with account for the specifics of work of municipal services. Methods: We searched for scientific papers published in 2020–2021 in electronic databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, eLIBRARY and ResearchGate) using the following keywords: COVID-19, medical wastes, environment, and plastic pollution. Out of 97 sources found, we selected 55 papers taking into account the keywords and then reviewed 40 publications for this work. Results: We established that the production of medicinal and other disposable products increased sharply during the coronavirus pandemic. Apart from the additional burden on the environment due to improper disposal of contaminated items, the latter increased the risk of the disease spread. Numerous studies have confirmed the three-day viability of SARS-CoV-2 on plastics, which suggests the persistence of the virus on waste and is important for epidemiological assessment of the situation. This overview describes solid household and medical waste management solutions developed in Russia and abroad. Conclusions: The review confirms the global problem of environmental pollution with solid household wastes. In addition to the increased burden on the environment, inappropriate biologically hazardous waste management and treatment pose the risk of COVID-19 spread in the general population. Effective measures for the disposal of medical waste are being developed around the world now. New standards of solid waste transportation and municipal personnel safety during the pandemic are being elaborated. The overview discusses the existing systems of municipal waste management in different countries and the specifics of work of municipal services related to the novel coronavirus disease.