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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Medical Waste during COVID-19 Pandemic: Its Types, Abundance, Impacts and Implications
ClearThe Impacts of Plastic Waste from Personal Protective Equipment Used during the COVID-19 Pandemic
This review analyzes the environmental impacts of personal protective equipment plastic waste generated during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining how the unprecedented surge in PPE demand overwhelmed waste management systems and contributed to 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.
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.
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.
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.
COVID‐19: An Accelerator for Global Plastic Consumption and Its Implications
This review examined how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated global plastic consumption through increased medical waste and single-use plastics, analyzing the environmental implications and challenges for waste management systems worldwide.
Impacts of the Plastics From Waste Personal Protective Equip-Ment in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Researchers analyzed the surge in personal protective equipment use during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019-2022 and its downstream environmental consequences, including microplastic generation. The study highlights that improperly discarded PPE, predominantly plastic-based and non-biodegradable, accumulates in landfills and marine environments, and frames waste management solutions within the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework.
A review on enhanced microplastics derived from biomedical waste during the COVID-19 pandemic with its toxicity, health risks, and biomarkers
This review examined the increase in microplastic pollution derived from biomedical waste during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study discusses how discarded personal protective equipment and other medical plastics break down into microplastics through sunlight, oxidation, and biodegradation, and explores the associated toxicity, health risks, and potential biomarkers for monitoring exposure in organisms and humans.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) disposal during COVID-19: An emerging source of microplastic and microfiber pollution in the environment
This review examines how discarded personal protective equipment from the COVID-19 pandemic has become a new source of microplastic and microfiber pollution. Researchers found that single-use masks, gloves, and other PPE break down into tiny plastic particles that contaminate water, soil, and air. The study highlights the environmental trade-off of pandemic safety measures and calls for better waste management strategies for healthcare materials.
Microplastic pollution and associated health hazards: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic
This review explores how the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in single-use plastic waste from masks, gloves, and packaging, increasing microplastic pollution in the environment. Microplastics from this waste can enter land, air, and water, ultimately accumulating in the human body. The study highlights the need for better plastic waste detection, recycling, and management to reduce health risks from pandemic-driven microplastic contamination.
The effect of the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic on the use of personal protective equipment in hospitals
Researchers assessed how the COVID-19 pandemic affected personal protective equipment usage in a German hospital, finding a dramatic increase in PPE consumption during the pandemic that generated substantially more plastic waste with environmental implications.
Generation, types and impacts of biomedical waste during COVID-19: Indian context
This review documented the surge in biomedical waste generated in India during COVID-19, examining waste types, management challenges, and health and environmental impacts of improper disposal, within the context of the country's already strained waste management infrastructure.
Challenges and Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Waste Management Systems: A Review
Researchers reviewed the global impact of COVID-19 on waste management systems, focusing on the surge of disposable personal protective equipment and single-use plastics. The study highlights that pandemic-related waste has created novel pollution pathways for air, soil, and water contamination, and discusses the challenges this poses for existing waste management infrastructure worldwide.
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.
Municipal solid waste management during COVID-19 pandemic: effects and repercussions
Researchers reviewed 56 studies on how the COVID-19 pandemic altered municipal solid waste management, finding that lockdowns changed both the quantity and composition of waste while simultaneously disrupting recycling programs and increasing medical waste and littered plastic.
Increased plastic pollution due to COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and recommendations
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased plastic pollution through the massive use of disposable personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. Researchers warn that this surge in single-use plastics will accelerate the generation of microplastics and nanoplastics in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. The study emphasizes the need to balance public health measures with environmental safety and calls for a shift toward sustainable alternatives.
What we need to know about PPE associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the marine environment
This review discusses how the surge in plastic-based personal protective equipment use during the COVID-19 pandemic is contributing to marine plastic pollution. Researchers identified key research gaps regarding the occurrence, degradation, and ecological effects of PPE-derived plastics in ocean environments. The study proposes five priority research areas to better understand and mitigate the environmental impact of pandemic-related plastic waste.
The COVID-19 pandemic reshapes the plastic pollution research – A comparative analysis of plastic pollution research before and during the pandemic
This comparative bibliometric analysis found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reshaped plastic pollution research, driving increased focus on single-use plastics from personal protective equipment and medical waste while temporarily shifting attention away from traditional environmental microplastic topics.
Generation and consequence of nano/microplastics from medical waste and household plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic
This review examines how medical waste and household plastics generated during the COVID-19 pandemic contribute to micro- and nanoplastic pollution. Researchers found that approximately 1.6 million tons of plastic waste were generated daily during the pandemic, with single-use items like face masks and gloves containing non-biodegradable materials that fragment into microplastics. The study highlights that these particles can also serve as carriers for pathogenic contaminants, posing long-term risks to ecosystems and human health.
Repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic on solid waste generation and management strategies
Researchers reviewed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on solid waste systems globally, documenting 18–425% surges in medical waste generation, finding that lockdowns shifted commercial waste to households, and noting that pandemic emergency measures effectively stalled pre-existing policies aimed at reducing single-use plastics.
A review of waste management during protection kits and other material
This review examines waste management challenges associated with COVID-19 protective gear, including masks, gloves, and other single-use plastic items. Improper disposal of pandemic PPE has added significant quantities of plastic to the environment that will degrade into microplastics over time.
Biomedical waste plastic: bacteria, disinfection and recycling technologies—a comprehensive review
Researchers reviewed recycling and disinfection technologies for the surge in biomedical plastic waste generated during COVID-19, finding that roughly 25% of biomedical waste is recyclable and that cleaner treatment approaches — from autoclave sterilization to chemical recycling — can convert this hazardous waste stream into recoverable materials.
Plastic and its consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers examined the dual role of plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic — as life-saving material in medical and personal protective equipment and as an environmental pollutant when improperly discarded — highlighting how pandemic-driven plastic use worsened water body contamination and public health risks.
Post-pandemic micro/nanoplastic pollution: Toward a sustainable management
Researchers reviewed how the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to micro- and nanoplastic pollution through the massive use of disposable personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. The study found that weathering of these items releases microplastics into the environment and may even serve as carriers for pathogens. The review calls for more sustainable waste management approaches in preparing for future health crises.