Plastic Waste Management During and Post COVID‐19 Pandemic: Challenges and Strategies

Plastic items played critical roles in keeping people safe during the current COVID-19 epidemic. The broad use of personal protective equipment (PPE) has a profound effect on supply networks and trash collection services. Our existing waste management system may not be adequate to handle our growing reliance on plastic, which could lead to a new environmental disaster if the plastic is improperly managed and leaks into the ecosystem. This chapter explores the short-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on plastics production, usage, and trash in the year 2020 to gain a better understanding of the intricate interplay between the impact of COVID-19 on economic activity and the use of plastics. Since the outbreak, it has been observed that the globe produces 1.6 million metric tonnes of plastic waste per day. We estimate that the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the daily waste of about 3.4 billion disposable facemasks or face shields. In order to effectively combat future pandemics, it will be essential to make the switch to ecologically friendly materials like bioplastics and to adopt new sustainable technologies. The government's attempts to assist businesses to weather the pandemic provide a window of opportunity for the revitalization of industries that may create environmentally friendly alternatives to PPEs made from single-use plastic. The sudden appearance of such a massive epidemic has resulted in a biomedical plastic waste crisis. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, this expert opinion seeks to promote the use of adaptable waste management approaches to mitigate the harm to the environment caused by plastics.