The Impact of COVID-19 on Waste Infrastructure: Lessons Learned and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future

Abstract

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.