World Health Organisation said in a statement on Tuesday. This has exposed human life and the environment to major threats and, giving rise to a dire need to improve waste management practices. “The WHO Global analysis of health care waste in the context of Covid-19: status, impacts and recommendations bases its estimates on the approximately 87,000 tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE) that was procured between March 2020- November 2021 and shipped to support countries," said the UN health agency. “Over 140 million test kits, with a potential to generate 2,600 tonnes of non-infectious waste (mainly plastic) and 731,000 litres of chemical waste (equivalent to one-third of an Olympic-size swimming pool) have been shipped, while over 8 billion doses of vaccine have been administered globally producing 144,000 tonnes of additional waste in the form of syringes, needles, and safety boxes," it added.
Most of this equipment is expected to have ended up as waste. The health body also pointed out that 30% of healthcare facilities (60% in the least developed countries) are not equipped to handle existing waste loads, let alone the additional Covid-19 load.
This potentially exposes health workers to needle stick injuries, burns and pathogenic microorganisms, while also impacting communities living near poorly managed landfills and waste disposal sites through contaminated air from burning waste, poor water quality or disease-carrying pests.
The WHO stated that this just provides an initial indication of the scale of the Covid-19 waste problem. “It does not take into account any of the Covid-19 commodities procured outside of the initiative, nor waste generated by the public like disposable medical masks." Call