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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Biomedical waste plastic: bacteria, disinfection and recycling technologies—a comprehensive review
ClearThe crisis of biomedical wastes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and management using sustainable technologies for sound management of healthcare waste associated with pandemics
This review examines the surge in biomedical waste — including single-use plastics, PPE, and contaminated materials — generated during the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluates sustainable management strategies including waste segregation, autoclaving, and advanced treatment technologies.
From outbreak of COVID-19 to launching of vaccination drive: invigorating single-use plastics, mitigation strategies, and way forward
Researchers review how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent vaccination rollout dramatically increased single-use plastic consumption through PPE, medical devices, and e-commerce packaging, and recommend a stepwise management approach combining segregation, sterilization, technological innovation, and transition to biodegradable material alternatives.
Plastic accumulation during COVID-19: call for another pandemic; bioplastic a step towards this challenge?
Researchers reviewed the surge in single-use plastic waste driven by COVID-19 personal protective equipment and evaluated bioplastics as an alternative, concluding that while bioplastics have limitations, transitioning toward them alongside circular economy waste management and policy intervention is essential to prevent plastic pollution from compounding pandemic-era environmental pressures.
Insights into hazardous solid waste generation during COVID-19 pandemic and sustainable management approaches for developing countries
Researchers reviewed hazardous solid waste generated by COVID-19 personal protective equipment, noting that SARS-CoV-2 persistence on plastic and other surfaces makes improper disposal a transmission risk, and proposed measures including biodegradable PPE materials and strategic pre-planning for waste management in low- and middle-income countries.
Environmental Pollution of Medical Waste and New Medical Plastic Waste Treatment Technology
This review examines the environmental pollution problems caused by the surge in medical plastic waste during the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluates emerging treatment technologies including microcapsule technology, photocatalytic degradation, plastic cracking for oil production, and waste mask iron-making. The authors highlight deficiencies in current incineration and landfill approaches and advocate for wider adoption of greener, lower-emission technologies for medical waste processing.
Microbial strategies for degradation of microplastics generated from COVID-19 healthcare waste
Researchers reviewed microbial strategies for degrading microplastics generated from COVID-19 healthcare waste such as masks, gloves, and personal protective equipment. The study discusses how improper disposal of pandemic-related plastic waste creates microplastic pollution and explores the potential of microorganisms to break down these polymeric materials as a bioremediation approach.
Challenges in Healthcare Waste Management of the UN 2030 Agenda in the COVID-19 Era
This review examined healthcare waste management challenges during COVID-19, finding that the pandemic dramatically increased demand for single-use personal protective equipment, creating large new streams of potentially infectious plastic waste with serious implications for environmental microplastic pollution.
Impacts and Regulations of Healthcare Solid Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
This systematic review summarizes research on healthcare waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic, when medical plastic waste surged dramatically. The massive increase in disposable masks, gloves, and other medical plastics created new sources of microplastic pollution, raising concerns about both environmental contamination and potential health effects from degrading medical waste.
Review of the valorization options for the proper disposal of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers reviewed waste management options for the surge in discarded polypropylene face masks during COVID-19, finding that improper disposal contributes directly to microplastic pollution, and proposing valorization strategies — including energy recovery and material upcycling — tailored to country-level infrastructure and emergency conditions.
The Polymer Medical Waste: A Tough Challenge for Environmental Sustainability
This review examines polymer medical waste — including plastics and non-degradable materials from hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and veterinary facilities — as a major environmental sustainability challenge, discussing the contamination risks from blood and infectious materials and the difficulties of managing non-decomposable healthcare plastic waste.
Recycling and Management of Microplastic Waste
This review examines recycling and management strategies for plastic waste, describing the technical and economic challenges of reducing plastic pollution and the remediation approaches that have been attempted to address microplastic accumulation in the environment.
Mind the gap: Sustainable management of the surging plastic waste in the post-COVID-19 pandemic
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased plastic waste from personal protective equipment like masks and gloves, and what can be done about it. Researchers found that traditional disposal methods like landfilling and incineration can release micro- and nanoplastics, while circular economy approaches and biological degradation methods show promise. The study underscores the importance of developing sustainable waste management systems that prevent protective equipment from becoming a lasting source of plastic pollution.
Plastic waste management for sustainable environment: techniques and approaches
Researchers reviewed current plastic waste removal techniques — including adsorption, photocatalysis, and microbial degradation — and alternative resource recovery strategies, evaluating their efficiency, underlying mechanisms, and potential for converting plastic waste into adsorbents, fuels, or construction materials.
Study of Recycling Potential of FFP2 Face Masks and Characterization of the Plastic Mix-Material Obtained. A Way of Reducing Waste in Times of Covid-19
Researchers showed that FFP2 face masks can be mechanically recycled without pre-sorting their composite materials, producing a polymer blend with thermal and mechanical properties comparable to recycled polypropylene — offering a practical route to divert pandemic mask waste from the environment.
Emerging Technologies for Waste Plastic Treatment
This review surveyed emerging technologies for waste plastic treatment including chemical recycling, pyrolysis, biodegradation, and catalytic conversion, evaluating their potential to address the growing plastic pollution crisis more effectively than conventional methods.
Challenges of increased usage of plastic during COVID and Possible Solutions
This review examines the surge in plastic waste generation during the COVID-19 pandemic driven by increased use of gloves, masks, protective clothing, and test kits, and evaluates current treatment methods including incineration, landfilling, pyrolysis, and gasification. The authors recommend scaling up pyrolysis and gasification as cleaner alternatives and promote regulation, CO2 scrubbing, and expanded use of biodegradable plastics to address the amplified plastic waste challenge.
Evaluation of Plastic Recycling and Novel UV-Oriented Solution for Integration, Resilience, Inclusiveness, and Sustainability
This review evaluates plastic recycling rates and waste management strategies in the context of rapid urbanization, noting that less than 10% of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic produced since the 1950s has been recycled, and proposes UV-oriented treatment solutions to improve integration, resilience, and sustainability of plastic waste management.
Strategies and technologies for sustainable plastic waste treatment and recycling
This review covers current and emerging methods for recycling and treating plastic waste to reduce environmental pollution. The authors emphasize that improperly managed plastics break down into microplastics that contaminate ecosystems, and they evaluate strategies including chemical recycling, biodegradation, and energy recovery as more sustainable alternatives to landfilling.
Effects of Mismanagement of Medical and Plastic Waste in Pre and During COVID-19 Outbreak
This review examined how mismanagement of medical and plastic waste — a problem worsened by COVID-19 — harms the environment and human health, particularly for healthcare workers. Improperly disposed PPE, sharps, and plastic packaging create pollution hazards and increase disease risk. The authors call for improved waste management infrastructure to address pandemic-era plastic waste surges.
Medical Waste during COVID-19 Pandemic: Its Types, Abundance, Impacts and Implications
This review analyzed 54 peer-reviewed studies on COVID-19-related medical waste, finding that its types and quantities shifted over the pandemic from personal protective equipment at the outset to vaccination waste during the peak vaccination phase. The surge in medical plastic waste created significant disposal challenges and increased microplastic pollution from discarded PPE.
Consequence of COVID‐19 occurrences in wastewater with promising recognition and healing technologies: A review
This review examines COVID-19 in wastewater treatment contexts, discussing how the pandemic increased plastic and nanoplastic inputs alongside pharmaceutical and antibiotic contaminants, and evaluating emerging detection and treatment technologies for managing these compounding pollution challenges.
Analysis of Plastic Waste Processing Methods
This review summarizes global plastic waste production and recycling trends, arguing that the recycling industry must scale up urgently to address growing environmental contamination. Current recycling rates remain far below what is needed to prevent plastic pollution from continuing to accumulate.
An urgent call to think globally and act locally on landfill disposable plastics under and after covid-19 pandemic: Pollution prevention and technological (Bio) remediation solutions
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic worsened plastic pollution through massive increases in landfilled disposable masks and other protective equipment, estimated at 3.5 million metric tonnes in the first year alone. Researchers warn that improperly managed pandemic waste could release trillions of microplastics into the environment. The study highlights innovative waste management and bioremediation technologies that could help mitigate the long-term environmental impact.
Plastic Waste Pollution Worsen by the COVID-19 Pandemic: Substitutional Technologies Transforming Plastic Waste to Value Added Products
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic worsened plastic waste management by generating unprecedented medical waste, while assessing substitutional technologies such as pyrolysis and construction material conversion that can transform plastic waste into value-added products within a circular economy framework.