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How Covid-19 Has Change the Way Medical Waste is Managed

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Wuhan, the origin of COVID-19, has been producing six times the regular medical waste since the peak of the outbreak. The daily amount of medical waste produced has reached up to 240 metric tons. They were not just enforced to build new hospitals intended for patients but to deploy 46 mobile waste facilities and create a medical waste plant.Meanwhile, in the United States, they have confirmed cases for at least 5,010,679 of COVID-19 as of August 9. Adding all the other countries’ output on medical wastes, Stericycle mentioned that the uptick of the medical waste produced is colossal. It is a medical waste company that had been handling 1.8 billion pounds of wastes globally in the year 2018. Although Stericycle didn’t mention the exact number of the waste produced increase, the spokesperson states on The Verge that the drop-in elective surgeries could offset the rapid rise of waste not just in the US but internationally.

Hazardous categories of medical waste Health care facilities dispose of healthcare wastes by bulk. They are required to be segregated according to their sources. Below are the categories of healthcare wastes each facility produces.

• Pharmaceutical waste (cytotoxic waste)
• Sharps waste
• Hazardous chemical waste
• General (non-risk) waste.
• Pathological waste
• Radioactive waste
• Pathological waste

Used medical materials in dealing with Covid-19 falls under infectious wastes. This category collects all materials that have all the suspected pathogens, such as viruses, parasites, fungi, and other disease-causing bacteria. How to manage infectious wastes amidst the Covid-19 breakout Although exact data about the number of infectious wastes amid the Covid-19 are not yet released, a massive surge of infectious wastes is discharged daily. Thus, more serious proper disposal and treatment of health care wastes need immediate attention to steer clear of the severe hazards of secondary disease transmission to agents responsible for waste sanitation such as waste pickers, and the community in general where the said waste is improperly discharged.The world is dealing with COVID-19, an infectious disease caused by the more to be unearthed coronavirus, the medical waste thenceforth has to undergo immediate measures. People recover at home, and some cases are asymptomatic. This generates massive virus-laden trash. Furthermore, protective gears, such as masks, face shields, are under a massive surge not only on medical facilities but to ordinary household wastes.  According to the virus laboratory studies, the virus persists for up to 24 hours on cardboards and takes even longer to diminish on plastic and metal.

Conclusion

This pandemic must analyze healthcare waste generation, disposal, and composition needs, as well as in deciding the appropriate technologies for the local management waste system.It is also necessary to unceasingly optimize, adapt, and prepare, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. The International Solid Waste Management Association also gives an excellent Specific source of information for medical waste management.