Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 69 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 73 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Journal of Composites Science 43 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 Global Social Welfare 40 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management 54 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 42 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Polymers 36 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 American Journal of Environmental Sciences 5 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 33 citations
Article Tier 2

PPE pollution in the terrestrial and aquatic environment of the Chittagong city area associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and concomitant health implications

Researchers documented the improper disposal of face masks and other personal protective equipment in the Chittagong metropolitan area of Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding widespread terrestrial and aquatic contamination with plastic microfibers that poses risks for both viral persistence and microplastic pollution.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 38 citations
Article Tier 2

COVID-19 and waste management in Indian scenario: challenges and possible solutions

Researchers review how COVID-19 dramatically amplified India's already-strained biomedical waste management challenges, warning that improper disposal of pandemic-associated waste risks food chain contamination and a secondary 'waste disaster,' and calling for automated, mechanized waste management systems to handle current and future health emergencies.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 43 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Journal of Environmental and Public Health 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Lockdown Litter: A critical analysis of global COVID-19 PPE litter and measures for mitigation

This global analysis examined the scale and distribution of COVID-19 PPE litter, finding evidence of significant plastic pollution from masks, gloves, and wipes discarded during the pandemic. Improperly disposed PPE is expected to fragment into microplastics that will persist in the environment for decades.

2021 7 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as potential source for environmental pollution: An updated review on Indian scenario Post Covid -19

This review synthesizes evidence on microplastic occurrence, sources, fate, and toxicological implications in Indian environments, with particular attention to the intensification of plastic pollution during and after the COVID-19 pandemic driven by massive use of facemasks, face shields, and PPE. The authors identify five key research gaps including quantification, multi-media distribution, human toxicology, pandemic-era disposal, and governance challenges, and call for coordinated action among researchers, educators, and policymakers.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as potential source for environmental pollution: An updated review on Indian scenario Post Covid -19

This review synthesizes evidence on microplastic occurrence, sources, fate, and toxicological implications in Indian environments, with particular attention to the intensification of plastic pollution during and after the COVID-19 pandemic driven by massive use of facemasks, face shields, and PPE. The authors identify five key research gaps including quantification, multi-media distribution, human toxicology, pandemic-era disposal, and governance challenges, and call for coordinated action among researchers, educators, and policymakers.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as potential source for environmental pollution: An updated review on Indian scenario Post Covid -19

This review examines the status of microplastic pollution in India following the COVID-19 pandemic, during which accelerated plastic production for personal protective equipment and medical supplies intensified microplastic inputs to the environment. Researchers synthesized available data on microplastic contamination across Indian environmental compartments, identifying knowledge gaps and regulatory challenges specific to the post-pandemic Indian context.

2022 World Journal of Biology Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution during COVID-19: Plastic waste directives and its long-term impact on the environment

Researchers reviewed how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated global plastic production — through mandatory masks, gloves, and single-use packaging — worsening long-term micro- and nanoplastic pollution in oceans, soils, and food chains. The study calls for stronger plastic waste management programs that specifically target the prevention of small plastic particles from entering ecosystems.

2021 Environmental Advances 317 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 36 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

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.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 45 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

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.

2023 Sustainability 2 citations