A deluge of medical waste is swamping the globe, a U.N. report says.
WHO WARNS OF THREATS FROM COVID MEDICAL WASTE TO ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN HEALTHA dump with disposed medical waste bags outside a hospital in New Delhi in 2020.
Credit...Adnan Abidi/Reuters
By Adeel Hassan
Feb. 3, 2022
A new report from the World Health Organization has highlighted the overabundance of medical waste around the world caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The thousands of tons of extra garbage — discarded syringes, old test kits and used vaccine vials — has strained waste management systems and is threatening both human health and the environment, the W.H.O. said this week.
The agency, which is part of the United Nations, said that most of the estimated 87,000 tons of personal protective equipment and supplies for coronavirus testing and vaccinations — distributed to countries from March 2020 to November 2021 through a U.N. emergency initiative — has ended up as waste.
In addition, more than 8 billion coronavirus vaccine doses given globally have produced 143 tons of trash in the form of syringes, needles and safety boxes. Some of the waste could expose other people to needle punctures and disease-causing germs, the report said.
“It is absolutely vital to provide health workers with the right P.P.E.,” Dr. Michael Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program, said in a statement. “But it is also vital to ensure that it can be used safely without impacting on the surrounding environment.”
To combat these problems, the report recommends the use of “eco-friendly” packaging and shipping, along with reusable equipment and products made from recyclable or biodegradable materials.
The report also noted that 30 percent of health care facilities worldwide could not handle the amount of garbage they were creating even before the pandemic. And that number grows to as much as 60 percent in the least developed countries. The trash can contaminate the air in nearby communities when it is burned, pollute water and attract disease-carrying pests, the report’s authors wrote. They called for increased investment in cleaner waste-treatment technologies and recycling.
Solid waste experts have said that high volumes of personal protective equipment have been misclassified as hazardous. Much of that material is dumped in burn pits because it is excluded from normal trash.
“The report is a reminder that although the pandemic is the most severe health crisis in a century, it is connected with many other challenges that countries face,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the W.H.O. director general.
The estimate does not include the trash from hundreds of tons of supplies that were not distributed through the U.N., or face coverings and at-home testing kits used by the general public.
Adeel Hassan is a reporter and editor on the National Desk. He is a founding member of Race/Related, and much of his work focuses on identity and discrimination. He started the Morning Briefing for NYT Now and was its inaugural writer. He also served as an editor on the International Desk. @adeelnyt
By Adeel Hassan
Feb. 3, 2022
A new report from the World Health Organization has highlighted the overabundance of medical waste around the world caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The thousands of tons of extra garbage — discarded syringes, old test kits and used vaccine vials — has strained waste management systems and is threatening both human health and the environment, the W.H.O. said this week.
The agency, which is part of the United Nations, said that most of the estimated 87,000 tons of personal protective equipment and supplies for coronavirus testing and vaccinations — distributed to countries from March 2020 to November 2021 through a U.N. emergency initiative — has ended up as waste.
In addition, more than 8 billion coronavirus vaccine doses given globally have produced 143 tons of trash in the form of syringes, needles and safety boxes. Some of the waste could expose other people to needle punctures and disease-causing germs, the report said.
“It is absolutely vital to provide health workers with the right P.P.E.,” Dr. Michael Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program, said in a statement. “But it is also vital to ensure that it can be used safely without impacting on the surrounding environment.”
To combat these problems, the report recommends the use of “eco-friendly” packaging and shipping, along with reusable equipment and products made from recyclable or biodegradable materials.
The report also noted that 30 percent of health care facilities worldwide could not handle the amount of garbage they were creating even before the pandemic. And that number grows to as much as 60 percent in the least developed countries. The trash can contaminate the air in nearby communities when it is burned, pollute water and attract disease-carrying pests, the report’s authors wrote. They called for increased investment in cleaner waste-treatment technologies and recycling.
Solid waste experts have said that high volumes of personal protective equipment have been misclassified as hazardous. Much of that material is dumped in burn pits because it is excluded from normal trash.
“The report is a reminder that although the pandemic is the most severe health crisis in a century, it is connected with many other challenges that countries face,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the W.H.O. director general.
The estimate does not include the trash from hundreds of tons of supplies that were not distributed through the U.N., or face coverings and at-home testing kits used by the general public.
Adeel Hassan is a reporter and editor on the National Desk. He is a founding member of Race/Related, and much of his work focuses on identity and discrimination. He started the Morning Briefing for NYT Now and was its inaugural writer. He also served as an editor on the International Desk. @adeelnyt
Published on Feb. 3, 2022,
Isabella O'Malley, M.Env.Sc
Reporter
Unprecedented amounts of discarded medical waste, which is largely made from plastics, are putting human health and the environment at risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report stating that the medical waste created by the COVID-19 pandemic is putting a “tremendous strain” on global health care waste management systems and could threaten the health of both humans and the environment.
The scale of the medical waste produced in response to the pandemic will take years to precisely estimate. WHO estimates that so far there have been 140 million test kits, which could generate 2,600 tonnes of plastic and other non-infectious waste and 731,000 litres of chemical waste. Over eight billion vaccine doses have been administered across the world, and the syringes, needles, and safety boxes could amount to 144,000 tonnes of waste.
The fibres in single-use face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) are a fossil fuel-derived plastic called polypropylene. More than 99 per cent of plastics are made from fossil fuels and the environmental concerns come from both the impacts the degrading waste has on ecosystems and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions used to make the PPE.
“It is absolutely vital to provide health workers with the right PPE. But it is also vital to ensure that it can be used safely without impacting on the surrounding environment,” Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said in the report’s news release.
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A single-use face mask that was improperly disposed of in Brandenburg, Germany. (Kevin Kobs/ Moment/ Getty Images)
The staggering levels of medical waste are also presenting serious risks to human health. WHO states that 30 per cent of healthcare facilities are not equipped to handle typical waste loads, which have all become even more strained as the pandemic wears on. Some of the main hazards that come from mismanaged medical waste include exposure to contaminated needles and pathogenic microorganisms.
Communities that live near poorly managed landfills and waste disposal sites that received COVID-19 medical waste also face public health risks due to contaminated air from burning waste, poor water quality, and pests carrying infections.
Article continues below
“COVID-19 has forced the world to reckon with the gaps and neglected aspects of the waste stream and how we produce, use and discard of our health care resources, from cradle to grave,” said Dr. Maria Neira, Director, Environment, Climate Change and Health at WHO.
“Significant change at all levels, from the global to the hospital floor, in how we manage the health care waste stream is a basic requirement of climate-smart health care systems, which many countries committed to at the recent UN Climate Change Conference, and, of course, a healthy recovery from COVID-19 and preparedness for other health emergencies in the future.”
WHO says that some solutions include eco-friendly packaging and shipping, safe PPE that is reusable, materials that are recyclable and biodegradable, non-burn waste treatment technologies, and improved recycling technologies for existing materials such as plastic.
Thumbnail credit: Ana Maria Serrano/ Moment/ Getty Images
Reporter
Unprecedented amounts of discarded medical waste, which is largely made from plastics, are putting human health and the environment at risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report stating that the medical waste created by the COVID-19 pandemic is putting a “tremendous strain” on global health care waste management systems and could threaten the health of both humans and the environment.
The scale of the medical waste produced in response to the pandemic will take years to precisely estimate. WHO estimates that so far there have been 140 million test kits, which could generate 2,600 tonnes of plastic and other non-infectious waste and 731,000 litres of chemical waste. Over eight billion vaccine doses have been administered across the world, and the syringes, needles, and safety boxes could amount to 144,000 tonnes of waste.
The fibres in single-use face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) are a fossil fuel-derived plastic called polypropylene. More than 99 per cent of plastics are made from fossil fuels and the environmental concerns come from both the impacts the degrading waste has on ecosystems and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions used to make the PPE.
“It is absolutely vital to provide health workers with the right PPE. But it is also vital to ensure that it can be used safely without impacting on the surrounding environment,” Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said in the report’s news release.
The staggering levels of medical waste are also presenting serious risks to human health. WHO states that 30 per cent of healthcare facilities are not equipped to handle typical waste loads, which have all become even more strained as the pandemic wears on. Some of the main hazards that come from mismanaged medical waste include exposure to contaminated needles and pathogenic microorganisms.
Communities that live near poorly managed landfills and waste disposal sites that received COVID-19 medical waste also face public health risks due to contaminated air from burning waste, poor water quality, and pests carrying infections.
Article continues below
“COVID-19 has forced the world to reckon with the gaps and neglected aspects of the waste stream and how we produce, use and discard of our health care resources, from cradle to grave,” said Dr. Maria Neira, Director, Environment, Climate Change and Health at WHO.
“Significant change at all levels, from the global to the hospital floor, in how we manage the health care waste stream is a basic requirement of climate-smart health care systems, which many countries committed to at the recent UN Climate Change Conference, and, of course, a healthy recovery from COVID-19 and preparedness for other health emergencies in the future.”
WHO says that some solutions include eco-friendly packaging and shipping, safe PPE that is reusable, materials that are recyclable and biodegradable, non-burn waste treatment technologies, and improved recycling technologies for existing materials such as plastic.
Thumbnail credit: Ana Maria Serrano/ Moment/ Getty Images
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