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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Challenges in Healthcare Waste Management of the UN 2030 Agenda in the COVID-19 Era
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 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.
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.
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.
Arising Challenges From Single-use Plastics and Personal Protective Equipment Through COVID-19 Pandemic in Waste Management System in Developing Countries
This review examines the waste management challenges posed by the surge in single-use plastics and personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in developing countries where infrastructure is limited. The authors analyzed published literature to highlight how the pandemic exacerbated plastic waste generation and identify gaps in policy and management capacity needed to address these emerging pollution streams.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A sustainable trend in COVID-19 research: An environmental perspective
This review analyzes the sustainable research trends linking COVID-19 and the environment, examining how the pandemic affected environmental conditions including increased plastic waste from personal protective equipment and medical supplies.
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.
Understanding of environmental pollution and its anthropogenic impacts on biological resources during the COVID-19 period
Researchers reviewed how the COVID-19 pandemic intensified plastic pollution across terrestrial, marine, and atmospheric environments by driving surges in single-use plastics and inadequately managed medical waste, with plastic-related contamination projected to pose escalating transboundary risks through 2030 and beyond.
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.
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.
Personal Protective Equipment Associated with COVID-19 Pandemic and Microplastic
This chapter reviews how the surge in personal protective equipment (PPE) use during the COVID-19 pandemic introduced a new stream of microplastic contamination into the environment. The authors examine PPE material composition, fragmentation pathways, and the scale of resulting pollution.
COVID-19 Pandemic and Microplastic Pollution
This review links the COVID-19 pandemic to a surge in microplastic pollution driven by increased production and disposal of personal protective equipment including masks and gloves. The authors document how pandemic-related plastic waste entered terrestrial and aquatic environments and argue for circular economy strategies to prevent future public health crises from amplifying plastic pollution.
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.
Review on personal protective equipment: Emerging concerns in micro(nano)plastic pollution and strategies for addressing environmental challenges
This review examines how the massive increase in disposable masks, gloves, and other protective equipment during COVID-19 has become a major new source of microplastic pollution. An estimated 1.6 million tons of plastic waste per day was generated from discarded protective equipment, and as this gear breaks down, it releases micro- and nanoplastic particles into soil and water. These particles can accumulate in seafood and other organisms, creating another pathway for human microplastic exposure.
Environmental Impacts of Personal Protective Clothing Used to Combat COVID‐ 19
This review examines the environmental impacts of single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) used during COVID-19, which is primarily made from polypropylene and polyester plastics. The surge in PPE use generated enormous quantities of plastic waste, much of which was not properly disposed of and ended up in oceans and other environments. The authors call for development of biodegradable or reusable alternatives for healthcare personal protection.
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.
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.
Plastic wastes in the time of COVID-19: Their environmental hazards and implications for sustainable energy resilience and circular bio-economies
This study examines how the surge in plastic waste during the COVID-19 pandemic, including personal protective equipment and packaging materials, has worsened environmental pollution. Researchers found that weathered plastic particles from PPE can adsorb chemical and microbial contaminants, posing risks to ecosystems and human health. The study argues that the pandemic could serve as an opportunity to improve life cycle assessment approaches and develop more sustainable plastic waste management strategies.