COVID Garbage Crisis: 16,000 Tons Of Waste Unrecycled Due To Pandemic

Mountains of waste in multiple countries

 

The COVID crisis has given rise to another major concern as the garbage produced at the health care centres have posed problems to trash management. Media reports suggest that the personal protective equipment or PPEs, gloves, and masks have contributed the most to COVID garbage. Most importantly, the COVID-related litter produced during the pandemic has affected multiple and has transformed into a global garbage crisis. 
As per a New York Times report, cited by The Science Times, disposable face shields and gloves have piled up in Indonesia erecting a mountain of trash. Moreover, the same was observed in Brazil as recycling plants were seized to operate for several months. As a result, massive amounts of waste were junked or burned as apprehensions about the Coronavirus resulted in a work stoppage at recycling facilities. 
The Nature Public Health Emergency Collection’s new research found that 16,000 tons of material were left unrecycled due to the suspension of recycling facilities. The closure has reportedly resulted in an economic loss of about $1.2 million per month for waste-picker associations. Besides, recyclable material generation in cities increased by 25% in 2020 in Brazil, mainly due to a spike in online shopping, reported media sources. 
Adding to the pile of garbage, PPE kits also have a fair share. However, the kits are, reportedly, not allowed in standard trash thus a huge quantity of the same is discarded as litter or in burn pits. Syringes used during vaccination and for general use have also posed huge problems as experts worry that these harmful medical waste may end up in the wrong place. 
The concerns by experts are mostly directed toward the poorer nations. As per Bangladesh’s solid waste expert Mostafizur Rahman, tens of thousands of people have already started waste-scavenging in the capital city of Dhaka, stated The Science Times. Rahman further revealed that hardly four of the 64 districts in Bangladesh have facilities to safely dispose of syringes. The experts also warned that the garbage landfills comprising of such materials are neither secure nor sanitary and must be dealt with with extreme emergencies.