DISCARDED syringes, used test kits and old vaccine bottles from the COVID-19 pandemic have piled up to create tens of thousands of tonnes of medical waste, threatening human health and the environment, a World Health Organization (WHO) report said today.
It says the material is a threat to both human health and the environment, potentially exposing health workers to burns, needle-stick injuries and disease-causing germs.
Communities close to poorly-managed landfills could also be at risk through contaminated air from burning waste, poor water quality or pests.
Here’s WHO technical officer, Dr. Maggie Montgomery:
“We found that COVID-19 has increased healthcare waste loads in facilities to up to ten times current volumes and if you consider that two in three healthcare facilities in the least developed countries didn’t have systems to segregate or safely treat waste before the pandemic, you can just imagine how much burden this actual waste load has put on healthcare workers, on surrounding communities especially where waste is burned with the release of dioxins and furans.”
Montgomery also says a misconception about the rates of COVID-19 infection from surfaces was to blame for what she called the “overuse” of protective gear, particularly gloves.
The report calls for reform and investment, including by reducing the use of packaging that has caused a rush for plastic, and for protective gear made from reusable and recyclable materials to be used.
The report mentions some 140 million test kits with a potential to generate over 2,866 tonnes of mostly plastic trash, and enough chemical waste to fill one-third of an Olympic swimming pool – as well as personal protective equipment (PPE) the equivalent of the weight of several hundred blue whales ordered through a United Nations (UN) portal – most of which is thought to have ended up as waste.
The report did not name specific examples of where the worst build-ups occurred.
But it did refer to challenges, like limited official waste treatment and disposal in rural India, and large volumes of faecal sludge from quarantine facilities in Madagascar. – Feb 2, 2022.
