Environmental impact assessment of plastic waste during the outbreak of COVID-19 and integrated strategies for its control and mitigation

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, many positive shifts have been observed in the ecosystem, with a significant decrease in the greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. On the other hand, there were unavoidable negative shifts due to a surge in demand for plastic products such as food and groceries’ delivery packaging, single-use plastics, medical and personal protective equipment to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Plastic pollution can be considered as a key environmental issue in world due to the huge footprints of plastics on natural ecosystems and public health. Herein, we presented an overview on the rise of plastic pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic. The potential sources of plastic waste during COVID-19 with its negative effects on the environment such as marine ecosystems and the global economics are highlighted. We also suggested some strategies and recommendations to tackle plastic leakages by applying feedstock recycling, sterilization, and with the use of biodegradable plastics that have become a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel plastics. Also, the importance of elevating public awareness and some recommendations to mitigate plastic generated during the pandemic has been addressed as well.

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Plastic waste

10.31219/osf.io/umr5s ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Phạm Hà Trang ◽

Hoang Truong Giang ◽

Nguyen Cam Duong

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Global Problem ◽

Single Use ◽

Plastic Products

Plastic pollution is an urgent global problem that threatens the entire ecosystem, causing climate change and many other consequences that humans have to bear. Therefore, citizens need to uphold their sense of responsibility, consciously change living habits, say no to single-use plastic products. Protecting the environment, limiting plastic waste is protecting ourselves.

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Plastic Waste

10.31219/osf.io/7q3x5 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Phạm Hà Trang ◽

Hoàng Trường Giang ◽

Nguyen Cam Duong

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Global Problem ◽

Single Use ◽

Plastic Products

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Evaluating the Environmental Impacts of Personal Protective Equipment Use by the General Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Lombardy (Northern Italy)

Environments ◽

10.3390/environments8040033 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 33

Author(s):

Gilberto Binda ◽

Arianna Bellasi ◽

Davide Spanu ◽

Andrea Pozzi ◽

Domenico Cavallo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Population Data ◽

Test Site ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

National Guidelines ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Lombardy Region ◽

Life Habits

The diffusion of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) impacted the whole world, changing the life habits of billions of people. These changes caused an abundant increase in personal protective equipment (PPE, e.g., masks and gloves) use by the general population, which can become a concerning issue of plastic pollution. This study aims to evaluate the negative effects of the abundant PPE use following the COVID-19 diffusion using the test site of the Lombardy region, an area highly affected by the pandemic. Population data were retrieved from national databases, and the COVID-19 national guidelines were considered to estimate the total use of PPEs during 2020. Then, the quantity of waste derived from their use was evaluated based on the weight of PPEs. As well, possible scenarios for 2021 were proposed based on 2020 estimations. The results suggested different negative effects of the diffusion of PPEs both on waste management and on the environment: The abundant increase in PPEs-derived waste caused an increase in terms of costs for management, and the potential direct spreading in the environment of these materials (especially masks) poses a serious threat for an increase in microplastics in water bodies. Following this evaluation, a careful choice regarding COVID-19 measures of containment should be performed especially by the general population, avoiding contagion diffusion and reducing the possible environmental impact derived from disposable PPE use.

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SARS-CoV-2 pandemic-induced PPE and single-use plastic waste generation scenario

Waste Management & Research ◽

10.1177/0734242x20980828 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0734242X2098082

Author(s):

Md. Sazzadul Haque ◽

Shafkat Sharif ◽

Aseer Masnoon ◽

Ebne Rashid

Keyword(s):

Plastic Waste ◽

Personal Hygiene ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Effective Response ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Single Use ◽

Polyethylene Bags ◽

Policy Measures ◽

Disposable Plastic ◽

Do So

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has demonstrated both positive and negative effects on the environment. Major concerns over personal hygiene, mandated and ease in lockdown actions and slackening of some policy measures have led to a massive surge in the use of disposable personal protective equipment (PPE) and other single-use plastic items. This generated an enormous amount of plastic waste from both healthcare and household units, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Apart from the healthcare workers, the general public have become accustomed to using PPE. These habits are threatening the land and marine environment with immense loads of plastic waste, due to improper disposal practices across the world, especially in developing nations. Contaminated PPE has already made its way to the oceans which will inevitably produce plastic particles alongside other pathogen-driven diseases. This study provided an estimation-based approach in quantifying the amount of contaminated plastic waste that can be expected daily from the massive usage of PPE (e.g. facemasks) because of the countrywide mandated regulations on PPE usage. The situation of Bangladesh has been analysed and projections revealed that a total of 3.4 billion pieces of single-use facemask, hand sanitizer bottles, hand gloves and disposable polyethylene bags will be produced monthly, which will give rise to 472.30 t of disposable plastic waste per day. The equations provided for the quantification of waste from used single-use plastic and PPE can be used for other countries for rough estimations. Then, the discussed recommendations will help concerned authorities and policy makers to design effective response plans. Sustainable plastic waste management for the current and post-pandemic period can be imagined and acted upon.

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How important risk analysis of plastic pollution in coastal area? Case study in Masohi, Central Maluku

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202020002014 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 200 ◽

pp. 02014

Author(s):

Bachtiar W Mutaqin ◽

Muh Aris Marfai ◽

Muhammad Helmi ◽

Nurhadi Nurhadi ◽

Muhammad Rizali Umarella ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Awareness ◽

Coastal Areas ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Small Island ◽

Marine Biota ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Short Period ◽

Almost All ◽

And Function ◽

Interdisciplinary Study

Human pressure on the coastal and aquatic surrounding ecosystem in Indonesia, through plastic waste, is increasing, considering that 60 % of the approximately 250 million people live in the coastal areas. Plastic waste originating from human activities has become a massive problem in almost all the small island and coastal regions, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia. This condition is caused by poor waste management and a lack of public awareness in disposing of waste in its place, including in an area known as its marine biodiversities and marine tourism spots like Masohi in Central Maluku. Also, the composition of waste is dominated by plastic waste that cannot be decomposed in a short period, continue circulated on the ocean currents, and will be deposited in coastal areas. Furthermore, some plastic waste will break down into micro-plastics that pollute not only the environment but also marine biota, which are often consumed by humans. This situation profoundly affects the sustainability and function of aquaecosystem services in coastal areas. Therefore, a comprehensive policy and regulation, and interdisciplinary study for analysing vulnerable coastal ecosystem, and mitigating the potential risk of plastic pollution in Masohi, Central Maluku are essential to be conducted.

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Reducing plastic waste for the competitiveness of Vietnamese tourist attractions

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202021001011 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 210 ◽

pp. 01011

Author(s):

Minh Tuan Tran ◽

Trung Luong Pham ◽

Xuan Tung Nguyen

Keyword(s):

Public Education ◽

Sustainable Tourism ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Tourist Attractions ◽

Sustainable Tourism Development ◽

The Past ◽

Plastic Bags ◽

Plastic Wastes ◽

Plastic Products

Plastic usage in tourism activities has increased significantly in Vietnam over the past decades, leading to the burden of plastic pollution and the threat to sustainable tourism development. The Vietnamese government has recognized the importance of plastic waste management in sustainable tourism. Laws and regulations on controlling pollution due to non-biodegradable plastic bags. Public education activities have been organized to encourage people replace plastic products with natural materials, reuse plastic bags and reduce plastic wastes. Many tourism businesses have found ways to limit plastic consumption, such as replacing disposal plastic products with eco-friendly products. Vietnamese tourism has taken the first steps in reducing plastic waste pollution in tourism activities. This article proposed some solutions to limit and restrain plastic wastes from tourism in Vietnam.

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Environmental Policy for the Restriction on the Use of Plastic Products in Taiwan: Regulatory Measures, Implementation Status and COVID-19’s Impacts on Plastic Products Recycling

Environments ◽

10.3390/environments9010007 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 7

Author(s):

Wen-Tien Tsai

Keyword(s):

Plastic Waste ◽

Household Waste ◽

Waste Generation ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Outbreak Period ◽

International Trends ◽

Regulatory Measures ◽

Implementation Status ◽

Plastic Containers ◽

Plastic Products

In response to international trends regarding the reduction in plastic waste (or plastic pollution), this work used the official statistics that were recently released, focusing on regulatory actions restricting the use of plastic products and/or the increase in recycling in Taiwan. In addition, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on plastic waste generation and plastic products’ recycling were also addressed in the present study. The results showed that the plastic compositions in the garbage slightly increased in recent years, suggesting that the effect of restrictions on the use of plastic products in Taiwan was not significant, even though the regulatory measures have been implemented since 2002. However, chlorine contents in the garbage were significantly increased in 2020. The increase could be attributed to the fact that kitchen waste (containing salt), household waste containing disinfectant (e.g., chlorine dioxide, sodium hypochlorite) or PVC-made products were generated more during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the data also indicated that the monthly quantities of recycled plastic containers and other plastic products had no significant change since January 2020, especially in the outbreak period from May 2021 to July 2021.

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Prospects for the use of used plastic products in the construction industry

LAPLAGE EM REVISTA ◽

10.24115/s2446-6220202172716p.284-290 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 284-290

Author(s):

Ruslan Parazhutdinovich Aliev ◽

Ilia Aleksandrovich Krevskii ◽

Egor Alekseevich Simin ◽

Maksim Olegovich Kirichenko

Keyword(s):

Construction Industry ◽

Marine Environment ◽

New Products ◽

Marine Ecosystem ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

The Body ◽

Reliable Source ◽

Single Use ◽

Harmful Effects ◽

Plastic Products

The waste generated by the use of single-use plastic products becomes extremely dangerous to the environment due to their large amount generated, which causes serious harm to both the environment and its inhabitants. The main victim of this threat is the marine environment. Plastic waste generated on land ends up in water bodies, where it causes harmful effects such as flooding and poisoning of animals in the marine ecosystem. Plastics in the marine environment that enter the body of fish are also harmful to human health if such fish are eaten, as this can cause cancer in humans. To find an effective way to manage this waste and improve the sustainability of the environment, different approaches to recycling plastic waste into new products are being explored. In particular, the use of plastic waste in construction will significantly improve the sustainability of the environment, as well as serve as a reliable source of materials for construction purposes.

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‘Drinking and Dropping’: On Interacting with Plastic Pollution and Waste in South-Eastern Nigeria

10.21203/rs.3.rs-137350/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lesley Henderson ◽

Emeka W. Dumbili

Keyword(s):

Peer Group ◽

Pure Water ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Individual Responsibility ◽

Environmental Harm ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Single Use

Abstract Nigeria is reported as having released up to 0.34 million tonnes of plastic debris into the ocean in 2010 and ranked ninth country in the world for pollution of the marine environment. It is a postcolonial, oil-rich country where plastic is cheap and widely available. Currently, there is no government policy regulating single-use plastic products. Previous studies have identified university student residential areas as ‘hot spots’ for plastic waste. We used qualitative methods (focus groups and semi-structured interviews) to explore how students made sense of their single use plastics consumption (including ‘pure water’ plastic sachets) and analysed how young Nigerians interact with plastic waste. Students perceived plastic waste as malodorous, causing harm to human health and blighting environmental aesthetics. Students saw themselves as the cause of plastic pollution (as consumers) whereas plastic industries were framed positively as producers bringing progress and prosperity. Participants were open about their indiscriminate littering practices subverting other study findings where responsibility tends to be deflected (to policy makers, producers). While we are relying on self-reported behaviour, we found no obvious link between awareness of environmental harm caused by plastic pollution and students’ actions. Within this peer group of young Nigerians, it was not considered ‘normal’ or ‘cool’ socially to use waste bins or recycle. We suggest that further research is needed into how plastic pollution is made sense of in terms of individual responsibility; lay understandings of miasmas; perceptions of public/private spaces and plastics as a signifier of modernity and enhanced social status.

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Bill Calls for Dramatically Cutting Plastic Pollution

Eos ◽

10.1029/2020eo140084 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 101 ◽

Author(s):

Randy Showstack

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Plastic Recycling ◽

Single Use ◽

Set Up

With just 8% of plastic waste in the United States currently being recycled, the bill aims to set up an effective plastic recycling program and limit single-use plastic.

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