In a 71-page report released on Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the huge amount of waste generated by the Covid-19 pandemic poses a threat to health and the environment.
This waste “threatens human and environmental health and exposes the urgent need to improve waste management practices,” the UN agency said in a report.
With countries rushing to get personal protective equipment (PPE) to deal with the global health crisis, not enough attention has been paid to treating waste in a safe and sustainable way, explained the WHO.
In a report, the organization highlights the impact of the approximately 1.5 million PPE (approximately 87,000 tons) administered between March 2020 and November 2021 and shipped to countries through the United Nations system. This is a small part of the total.
Most of this equipment probably ended up in the trash, the WHO said.
“It is absolutely vital to provide workers with adequate PPE. But it is also vital to ensure that it can be used safely, without impacting the environment,” said WHO Emergencies Director Michael Ryan.
In addition, more than 140 million coronavirus detection test kits were distributed, which can generate 2,600 tons of non-infectious plastic waste and 731,000 liters of chemical waste.
At least 97% of plastic waste from testing is incinerated, the report says.
And the first eight billion doses of the anti-Covid vaccine administered worldwide produced 143 tons of waste, including syringes, needles and safety boxes.
The WHO does not recommend the use of gloves when handling anti-Covid vaccines, but the report points out that this is a common practice.
practical solutions
The report states that even before the start of the pandemic, the safe management of medical waste was insufficient.
Covid-19 made the situation worse.
According to the latest available data, from 2019, 30% of healthcare facilities in the world do not have a safe medical waste management system. In less developed countries, this proportion is almost 60%.
“Potentially, this exposes healthcare workers to needlestick injuries, burns and pathogenic micro-organisms, and it also has an impact on communities living near open-air dumps and other landfills – whether through air pollution from from burning waste, either due to poor water quality or disease-carrying insects”, warned the WHO.
The document recommends practical solutions, such as: more rational use of PPE; use of less packaging; development of reusable PPE, or made from biodegradable materials; investment in waste treatment that does not involve incineration; and investment in local production of PPE.
Source: Folha
