COVID-19: How bio-medical waste poses challenges to urban solid waste management system 

Synopsis: COVID-19 virus has increased the urban solid waste which is very infectious and risky. Some suggestions to deal with the situation. 

Introduction 

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic tremendously affected the waste sector, with medical waste subjected to uncontrolled dumping and open burning. It is leading to public health risks. 

Why it is important to prioritise a separate collection of waste? 

With the potential onset of the third wave, it is important to prioritise a separate collection of the infectious and highly infectious waste in the urban solid waste management system (USWM).

It is also crucial to equip the system with essential resources and skills to break the infection chain at the generation stage. 

What steps have been taken to improve the urban solid waste management system (USWM)? 

First, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) notified the Solid Waste Management Rules and Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules in 2016 to effectively manage waste. 

Second, the local governments adopted several policies for waste management. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) issued specific guidelines for Indian states to store, collect, transport, recycle, process and dispose of COVID-19 infectious waste to reduce the risk of infection spread. 

How COVID-19 has affected the waste sector? 

First, the COVID-19 outbreak increased the quantity of urban solid waste (USW) generated and changed its composition. These changes have been accelerated by the widespread implementation of syndromic management of COVID-19 throughout India. 

Second, there is addition to traditional residential USW. It includes infectious and highly infectious bio-medical waste generated during diagnosis, treatment and quarantine. These include sanitary waste, masks, gloves and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits that have the potential to spread infection. 

Third, the quantity of USW from households increased during the lockdown. The increase can be attributed to the disease’s effects on lifestyles such as in-home cooking, online shopping, use of packaged foods, etc. 

Thus, bio-medical waste management has become a part of the current urban solid waste management system and poses serious challenges to it. Second wave of COVID-19 in India further increased the risk, with the increased number of infected patients and changes in isolation, quarantine and hospitalisation protocols. 

What steps are needed to deal with urban waste management?  

First, the USW system has to upgrade its facilities to accommodate the changes.  

Second, the infrastructure resilience of the waste management system needs to be examined. 

Third, management of bio-medical waste generated in hospitals needs to follow standard protocols for segregation of infectious and highly infectious waste and their treatment at the source. 

Fourth, the virus can survive a maximum of three days (up to 72 hours). We can segregate and store the waste in a yellow bag to reduce the chances of spreading the infection. Storage space and availability of manpower can pose challenges in implementation. 

Fifth, separate collection of infectious and highly infectious waste needs to be streamlined through appropriate authorities collecting the waste regularly from households to avoid unauthorised dumping of waste. 

Sixth, the infectious waste should not be mixed with the daily USW during storage, collection and transportation. 

Seventh, reducing the use of PPE kits in non-COVID-19 areas and the use of reusable masks and gloves is a potential short-term solution to reduce waste generation. 

Source: This post is based on the article “COVID-19: How bio-medical waste poses challenges to urban solid waste management system” published in The Down to Earth on 1st Oct 2021.