Coronavirus disease-19 pandemic and health-care waste: Strategies to ensure environmentally sustainable management

Abstract

In the global mission to prevent climate deterioration and ensure environmental sustainability, the appropriate management of health-care waste carries immense importance. The available global estimates suggest that 30% of the healthcare establishments do not have the desired systems and mechanisms required for the segregation of waste. The ongoing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic proved to be a double-edged sword in this case, wherein not only it accounts for a massive increase in the health-care waste that has been generated, but also significantly decreased the capacity of the workers to efficiently deal with the waste, owing to rising caseload and other consequences of the infection. Acknowledging the magnitude of the problem, it is the need of the hour to come out with potential solutions to reduce the impact of health-care waste on the environment. To conclude, the containment of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an unprecedented global response. There are no doubts that we have improved ourselves in that regard, but in the process, it has resulted in the generation of significant amounts of health-care waste. It is high time that all the stakeholders should join their hands together and take appropriate steps to ensure reduction and appropriate management of health-care waste.