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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Arising Challenges From Single-use Plastics and Personal Protective Equipment Through COVID-19 Pandemic in Waste Management System in Developing Countries
ClearChallenges 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.
The 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.
Planning for disposal of COVID-19 pandemic wastes in developing countries: a review of current challenges
Researchers review the acute challenges developing countries face in managing the surge of COVID-19-related medical waste, highlighting how pre-existing deficiencies in waste infrastructure, treatment capacity, and disposal practices create serious risks of accelerating viral spread and environmental contamination.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Biomedical waste generation and management during COVID-19 pandemic in India: challenges and possible management strategies
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a massive surge in biomedical and plastic waste generation in India, overwhelming existing infrastructure and raising risks of environmental contamination and pathogen spread, with the authors calling for improved waste segregation, capacity expansion, and national policy reform.
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.
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.
Disposal of Personal Protective Equipment during the COVID-19 Pandemic Is a Challenge for Waste Collection Companies and Society: A Case Study in Poland
Researchers examined personal protective equipment (PPE) waste management challenges in Poland during COVID-19, finding that the dramatic increase in face mask and glove disposal created significant collection and contamination problems for waste companies and municipalities that were unprepared for this new waste stream.
Escalating SARS-CoV-2 circulation in environment and tracking waste management in South Asia
This review examined how the COVID-19 pandemic drove surges in PPE and plastic waste in South Asia, creating risks of environmental contamination and pathogen dispersal through improper disposal, and highlighting the need for better waste management frameworks before and during health emergencies.
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 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.
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.
The Escalating Biomedical Waste Management To Control the Environmental Transmission of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective from Two South Asian Countries
This study examines the growing challenge of biomedical waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and India. The research suggests that improperly managed personal protective equipment and medical waste could contribute to long-term microplastic pollution, and recommends modernizing waste management policies and installing adequate incineration infrastructure to prevent environmental and community transmission risks.
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.
Ensuring sustainability in plastics use in Africa: consumption, waste generation, and projections
This review examines plastic consumption, waste generation, and future projections for African nations, finding rapidly increasing plastic use alongside limited waste management infrastructure. The study calls for African-specific sustainability policies to prevent a major escalation in plastic pollution as economic development accelerates across the continent.
The plastic pandemic: COVID-19 has accelerated plastic pollution, but there is a cure
This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the global plastic pollution crisis through massively increased use of single-use protective equipment like masks and gloves. Researchers review the environmental consequences and propose solutions including improved waste management, biodegradable alternatives, and policy changes to curb plastic pollution going forward.
A critical synthesis of current peer-reviewed literature on the environmental and human health impacts of COVID-19 PPE litter: New findings and next steps
Researchers conducted a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed studies examining the environmental and health impacts of COVID-19 personal protective equipment litter such as face masks, gloves, and wipes. They found significant gaps in the research, including limited data on how PPE degrades in different environments and the actual exposure risks from PPE-derived contaminants. The study identifies key research priorities for understanding the long-term consequences of pandemic-related plastic waste.
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.
Covid-19 and increase in plastic debris in coastal and marine environments
This commentary discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic increased plastic pollution in coastal and marine environments through surging demand for single-use protective equipment and packaging. The authors call for urgent policy action to prevent pandemic-related plastic from becoming a lasting environmental legacy.
Plastic pollution induced by the COVID-19: Environmental challenges and outlook
Researchers used bibliometric analysis to map research on plastic pollution generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that wealthier nations led early inquiry while developing countries followed, and revealing that pandemic-related plastics — from masks to medical waste — are creating cascading contamination from land to ocean to atmosphere.
Environmental Catastrophe of COVID-19: Disposal and Management of PPE in Bangladesh
Researchers assessed the environmental impact of surging personal protective equipment (PPE) disposal during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, highlighting the urgent need for safe waste management systems to prevent single-use plastic contamination and associated public health risks.