The Outbreak of the Pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and its Impact on Medical Waste Management

Today, the global outbreak of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 has the potential to wreak a serious impact on human health and to further trigger a global crisis. A great repercussion of this pandemic is occurring on sustainable medical waste management practices with a profound impact. On the one hand, medical waste management companies need to be ready to assist countries worldwide as they seek to manage the great volumes of infectious material; on the other hand, the use of gloves and face masks is increasing among population to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. In addition to potentially being a biohazard, face masks and gloves can increase the plastic pollution if the disposal directions are not proper. Therefore, the current pandemic of the novel coronavirus poses new challenges regarding the management of medical waste practices above all for health measures for employees, proper waste treatment requirements.

The aim of this review is to collect data on the different systems and solutions implemented worldwide to manage municipal waste in the current situation.

Keywords: COVID-19, Face mask, Gloves, Healthcare waste, Pandemic.