The Current State of Management and Disposal of Wastes Related to COVID-19 : A review

Objectives : This paper summarizes effective waste management and disposal methods for plastic and medical wastes during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.Methods : We reviewed the literatures reporting and identifying the current status and characteristics of wastes related to COVID-19, and the management and treatment guidelines for those wastes. We also investigated various technologies for waste treatment and disposal, and assessed the current status and future direction of the technologies in Korea.Results and Discussion : In the first half of 2020 in Korea, the amount of plastic waste produced had increased by 15.6% year-on-year, and medical waste production also increased significantly from 0.6 ton in January 2020 to 2,928 ton in August 2021. All of the infectious wastes are currently being incinerated in Korea, but there are concerns on air pollutant emissions and insufficient treatment facilities. Municipal solid waste also suffers from a lack of landfill capacity and low price competitiveness in the recycling industry.Conclusions : Policy and system need to be improved to reduce the infectious waste generation from the sources, and treatment and disposal technologies for produced wastes also need to be developed. Furthermore, hospitals and health care facilities should establish their own waste reducing systems which may include chemical treatment and sterilization units.

Pengelolaan Limbah Alat Pelindung Diri (APD) di Daerah Jakarta Barat Berbasis Smart Infectious Waste Bank (SIWAB)

Pandemi COVID-19 yang melanda dunia mengharuskan masyarakat untuk melindungi diri dari penularan penyakit melalui penggunaan alat pelindung diri (APD). APD dari COVID-19 seperti masker bedah (surgery mask), sarung tangan, pakaian dekontaminasi (hazardous material suit), dan pelindung wajah (face shield) sebagian besar terbuat dari plastik dan kebutuhannya meningkat tajam. Namun, limbah APD tidak dipahami masyarakat sebagai limbah B3 infeksius sehingga sering dicampur pembuangannya bersama dengan limbah domestik. Kondisi tersebut dapat ditemukan pada seluruh lokasi di Indonesia, terutama Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI) Jakarta. Berdasarkan laporan Dinas Lingkungan Hidup DKI Jakarta, penghasil limbah APD domestik tertinggi berada di daerah Jakarta Barat. Melalui penelitian dilakukan pengelolaan limbah APD di daerah Jakarta Barat berbasis Smart Infectious Waste Bank (SIWAB). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memperoleh timbulan limbah APD yang berasal dari rumah tangga dan merancang bank sampah yang didukung oleh teknologi digital (aplikasi) sebagai sarana pengelolaan limbah APD. Penelitian diawali dengan studi pendahuluan timbulan limbah APD beserta karakteristiknya dan dilanjutkan dengan perancangan SIWAB. Hasil penelitian berupa aplikasi SIWAB yang terintegrasi dengan smartphone. Penelitian ini akan memberikan kontribusi besar kepada pemerintah Jakarta Barat dalam pengelolaan limbah B3 infeksius khususnya dan Indonesia umumnya.ABSTRACTThe COVID-19 pandemic that surge the world, requires people to protect themselves from the transmission of disease by using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The COVID-19 PPE, such as surgery masks, gloves, hazardous material suits, and face shields, are mostly made of plastic and the need for procurement is increasing. However, the community does not understand the PPE waste as infectious hazardous waste, so often it mixed with domestic waste. This condition can be found in all regions of Indonesia, especially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta. Based on a report from the Jakarta Environment Agency, the highest producer of domestic PPE waste is in the West Jakarta. Through this research, PPE waste management was carried out in the West Jakarta area based on the smart infectious waste bank (SIWAB). This study aims to obtain PPE waste generation from household and to design a waste bank that is supported by digital technology (application) as a means of PPE waste management. The research begins with a preliminary study of the generation of PPE waste and its characteristics and next designing an SIWAB application. The research result is a SIWAB application that is integrated with smartphone. This research will make a major contribution to the West Jakarta government in managing Toxic and Hazardous Materials (THM) infectious waste and Indonesia in general.

Design Thinking as a Framework for the Design of a Sustainable Waste Sterilization System: The Case of Piedmont Region, Italy

The development of new methods for the correct disposal of waste is unavoidable for any city that aims to become eco-friendly. Waste management is no exception. In the modern era, the treatment and disposal of infectious waste should be seen as an opportunity to generate renewable energy, resource efficiency, and, above all, to improve the population's quality of life. Northern Italy currently produces 66,600 tons/year of infectious waste, mostly treated through incineration plants. This research aims to explore a more ecological and sustainable solution, thereby contributing one more step toward achieving better cities for all. Particularly, this paper presents a conceptual design of the main sterilization chamber for infectious waste. The methodology selected was Design Thinking (DT), since it has a user-centered approach which allows for co-design and the inclusion of the target population. This study demonstrates to the possibility of obtaining feasible results based on the user's needs through the application of DT as a framework for engineering design.

Mucormycosis: A black fungus – post covid complication, clinical and pathogenic approaches and isolation and characterization of black fungus with correlate its current perspectives of biomedical waste management

The clinically relevant black yeasts and their relatives, i.e., members of the Ascomycete order Chaetothyriales. In order to understand the pathology of these fungi it is essential to know their natural ecological niche. From a relatively low degree of molecular variability of the black yeast Exophiala dermatitidis, potential agent of brain infections in patients from East Asia, it is concluded that this species is an emerging pathogen, currently going through a process of active speciation. It is found to be an oligotrophic fungus in hot, moist environments, such as steam baths. Cladophialophora-Fonsecaea- and Ramichloridium-like strains, known in humans as agents of chromoblastomycosis, are frequently found on rotten plant material, but the fungal molecular diversity in the environment is much higher than that on the human patient, so that it is difficult to trace the etiological agents of the disease with precision, Human to human transmitted disease is the game of corona virus disease (COVID-19) transmission and it had been declared an emergency global pandemic that caused major disastrous in respiratory system to more than five million people and killing more than half a billion deaths across the globe. Besides lower acute respiratory syndrome, there is damage to alveolar with severe inflammatory exudation. COVID-19 patients often have lower immunosuppressive CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells and most patients in intensive care units (ICU) need mechanical ventilation, hence longer stay in hospitals. These patients have been discovered to develop fungal co-infections. COVID-19 patients develop what is known as mucormycosis a black fungal infection which is deadly leading to loss of sight and hearing and eventually death. This chapter will focus on mucormycosis, black fungus caused during post covid complication. This approach has been successful with Cladophialophora carrionii, of which cells resembling muriform cells, the tissue form of chromoblastomycosis, were found to occur in drying spines of cacti. Phagocytosis assays provide a method to distinguish between pathogens and non-pathogens, as the killing rates of strict saprobes proved to be consistently higher than of those species frequently known as agents of disease. therapeutic possibilities for patient chromoblastomycosis. Covid-19 waste is like any other infectious waste and the guidelines for its management are required to be followed in addition to existing practices under regulation. BMWM in context of COVID-19 is a public health concern and is both a legal and social responsibility.

Generation of infectious waste during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of a Brazilian hospital

Coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) acquired pandemic status in March 2020. The new virus has caused serious implications in the healthcare services management, including several sectors, among them the generation of waste. Healthcare wastes (HCW) generation increased along pandemic representing a health problem due to potentially infected ones. From this perspective, the study sought to analyse the challenges and changes imposed by COVID-19 in the HCW management in a large public hospital from Brazil. For this purpose, data about the Contingency Plan prepared by the hospital and HCW generation from 2017 to 2020 were used, analysed by statistical methods. When dealing with the Contingency Plan, the Brazilian hospital adopted measures similar to other hospitals around the world as described by the literature, such as: adoption of new protocols, specific team assigned to manage actions and training of professionals and suspension of elective surgeries. Regarding the generation of HCW, there was a significant increase in the mass of biological waste with a high risk of infection. The waste of this group increased from March 2020, coinciding with the start of care for the patients infected by COVID-19. The contribution of this type of waste to total generation jumped from approximately 0.2% in previous years to almost 5% in 2020. In addition, a reduction in the average of total waste generated in kilogrammes per bed per day from 2017 to 2019 was indicated compared to the 2020. COVID-19 pandemic led to major challenges for hospitals that had to care for patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including new protocols, changing the work shifts and training the teams in the new procedures. The biological waste with a high risk of infectiousness also increased 30 times.

Treatment of Infectious Waste through the Application Rotary Kiln Incinerators and Ozone Technology

The alarming rate at which infectious waste is growing was an unsolved problem worldwide before the pandemic, and it has only gotten worse. It is especially prominent in the medical services, owing to the improper use or the lack of high-efficiency waste management systems. To address this issue, this paper presents a modification to the conventional rotary kiln incineration method using add-on ozone (O3) at a concentration of 100–160 g/h in order to enhance its efficiency when treating emitted air pollutants. These pollutants of Hg, HF, TSP, SO2, NO2, CO, and HCl were measured, and their percent opacity concentrations were 0.006 mg/m3, 0.680 mg/m3, 21.900 mg/m3, 5.600 mg/m3, 16.300 mg/m3, 13.700 mg/m3, 0.022 mg/m3, and 6%, respectively. The amounts of these air pollutants were considerably lower than those released from a rotary kiln incinerator without the add-on ozone. Additionally, all the measurements were lower than the emission thresholds established in the US Environmental Protection Agency Emission Standards Reference Guide. Therefore, using the proposed rotary kiln incineration method modified with add-on ozone is suitable for use in the elimination of infectious waste in that it drastically reduces air pollution and improves air quality, resulting in environmental improvements aimed at mitigating the devastating impacts pollution has on human health.

Operative Management and Disposal of Hospital Wastes: A Comprehensive Appraisal

: Health clinics are significant destinations for the creation of risky waste. Every clinic has its own profile for the management and transport of waste contingent upon its area. It is amazingly crucial to guarantee that the waste created in medical clinics is sufficiently kept away from dangers to well-being and the climate. The manuscript describes the control of clinical waste, which incorporates infectious waste, synthetic substances, lapsed medications, radioactive trash, and rough waste are the major ones in hospitals. On the off chance that the administration is not efficient, it becomes perilous, as they are pathogenic and environmentally unsafe. Inability to do so can bring about negative results; for example, genuine well-being chances and the clinic's standing. This article portrays the different ways to deal with the powerful administration of clinic squander. The authors conclude that pretreatment is basic before discarding emergency clinic squander in a hospital to minimize hazardous issues.

Kajian Timbulan Limbah Infeksius Rumah Sakit Kota Bandung dan Cimahi

ABSTRACT The increased activities in hospitals will increase the infectious waste generation. The infectious waste contains pathogenic organisms that can spread disease to humans and the environment. The harmful impact of infectious waste can be minimized through proper waste management, starting from waste generation. This study aims to examine the problem of infectious waste generation: the overall percentage of infectious waste generation in hospitals, the amount of infectious waste generation from each source (processing unit), and analyze factors that significantly affected its generation. This study is expected to be the basis of recommendations for hospitals in handling infectious waste. The study was conducted in four public hospitals in Bandung and Cimahi City. The data consists of infectious waste generation, non-infectious waste (general waste) generation, and hospital data as data factors analyzed for its influence on waste generation. The stepwise regression method was used for factor analysis with 95% CI. The result showed that infectious waste generation had a lower percentage than non-infectious waste, ranging from 38–47%. The treatment rooms that produce the most considerable infectious waste are haemodialysis, operating rooms and inpatients with an average infectious waste generation of 0,08–2,18 kg/patient/day. Thus, the three rooms can become a priority for infectious waste management. Factors that significantly affect the generation of infectious waste are dominated by patients and medical personnel. The importance of this factor is related to waste sorting activities. Therefore, special control by hospital management is needed for these two factors. Keywords: hospital, generation, infectious waste, treatment room, factors ABSTRAK Peningkatan aktivitas rumah sakit akan diikuti dengan peningkatan timbulan limbah infeksius. Limbah infeksius mengandung organisme patogen yang dapat menyebarkan penyakit bagi manusia dan lingkungan. Dampak limbah infeksius dapat diminimalisir melalui kegiatan pengelolaan limbah yang tepat, dimulai dari timbulan limbah. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengkaji secara mendalam hal seputar timbulan limbah infeksius, dimulai dari persentase timbulan limbah infeksius rumah sakit secara keseluruhan, besaran timbulan limbah infeksius dari setiap sumber (unit perawatan) serta analisa terhadap faktor yang memiliki pengaruh signifikan terhadap timbulan limbah. Kajian ini diharapkan dapat menjadi dasar rekomendasi untuk pengelolaan limbah infeksius rumah sakit. Penelitian dilakukan di empat rumah sakit umum area Kota Bandung dan Cimahi. Data penelitian terdiri atas timbulan limbah infeksius dan non-infeksius (limbah umum) serta data atribut rumah sakit sebagai data faktor yang dianalisis pengaruhnya terhadap timbulan limbah. Analisis faktor menggunakan metode stepwise regression dengan signifikansi 0,05 (95% CI). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan limbah infeksius memiliki persentase timbulan yang lebih kecil dibandingkan limbah non-infeksius (limbah umum) yaitu kisaran 38–47%. Unit perawatan yang menjadi penghasil limbah infeksius terbesar berasal dari unit haemodialisa, kamar operasi serta rawat inap dengan kisaran rata-rata besaran timbulan limbah infeksius sebesar 0,08–2,18 kg/pasien/hari. Dengan demikian, ketiga unit perawatan tersebut dapat menjadi prioritas pengelolaan limbah infeksius. Adapun faktor yang berpengaruh signifikan terhadap timbulan limbah infeksius didominasi oleh faktor jumlah pasien dan jumlah staf medis. Signifikan faktor ini berkaitan dengan kegiatan pemilahan limbah sehingga perlu pengendalian khusus poleh pihak rumah sakit terhadap kedua faktor tersebut. Kata kunci: rumah sakit, timbulan, limbah infeksius, unit perawatan, faktor

Biomedical Waste Management

Bio medical waste (BMW) disposal is a very important yet a challenging task. Health care waste contains potentially harmful microorganisms, which can infect hospital patients, health workers, and the general public. Exposure to hazardous health care waste can result in disease or injury. The Government of India has been laying down rules, namely, Bio Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, in 1998, COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent biomedical waste is an unprecedented challenge worldwide. Biomedical waste generated during COVID-19 patient isolation, testing and care needs special consideration as it challenges the previous notion that only 15–20% of waste can be considered infectious. With establishment of new home quarantine facility, isolation/quarantine centers the chances of general waste getting contaminated with biomedical waste has increased exponentially. The key step in COVID19 waste management is segregation of biomedical waste from solid waste. Waste generated from COVID19 patients is like any other infectious waste, therefore creating public awareness about the COVID19 waste hazards and segregation at source is highlighted in all guidelines as a recommendation.