Personal protective equipment use during COVID-19 pandemic and associated waste management in households in Sri Lanka

The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is compulsory when accessing public places due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in many countries. Facemasks are the most common PPE used, however, some people use face shields and gloves. Frequent hand sanitizing is also recommended aiming to control the spread of the disease. All these activities generate a large amount of plastic waste daily. In Sri Lanka, it is estimated that 12 million facemasks are used daily, while 0.22 million gloves and 0.29 million face shields are used. Out of 12 million facemasks, 10 million are surgical or N95 masks. In addition, 0.79 million sanitizer bottles are used in a day, leaving empty plastic bottles. The most common method of disposing of facemasks in Sri Lanka is open burning by the users at their homes (55%). The rate of burning is comparatively low for other PPE. Although nearly 30% of people handover used facemasks to the municipal solid waste collection, there are no special precautions taken for separate collection and safe disposal. Guidelines are in place for handling healthcare waste generated in households under self-quarantine, but they are not applied for PPE waste generated in other households. Major drawbacks in PPE waste management is identified and mitigation measures were proposed. The estimate of waste plastics generated due to PPE use is 88.5 tonnes per day in the country. Energy recovery via pyrolysis may be a viable alternative to landfilling and affordable for developing countries.

Healthcare Waste, Pandemic Covid-19: A Case of India

The present pandemic, while causing economic slowdown and global panic, also generated healthcare waste in unprecedented amounts across the globe, due to mass screenings/diagnosing/treatment. This paper aims to explore the prospects of the current and future challenges with respect to the risk to human health due to environmental contamination with the healthcare waste generated as a result of and caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the Indian context. Peer-reviewed literature with respect to healthcare waste generation during the pandemic, its burden, challenges, and policies promulgated during the pandemic and their implications for the future was searched on various databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct and reviewed. Many research studies and international reports have demonstrated that the quantity of biomedical waste has increased in the times of the Covid-19 pandemic across the globe. Additionally, the danger of general waste getting contaminated has also multiplied, in part due to increased quarantine facilities and home quarantines, along with hospitals managing Covid-19 patients and also due to inadequate segregation at the point of generation of such waste, which is a major concern in itself. The occupational exposure of this increased waste to hospital and municipal waste collection workers has also increased, though World Health Organization (WHO) declines having any evidence of transmission of coronavirus while handling healthcare waste. Enough policies existed before the pandemic and few newer guidelines are also issued to address various additional aspects, which are to be implemented to manage the healthcare waste, minimize threats to the environment and human health. Cleaner, greener waste management facilities, the inclusion of bio-disaster in disaster management, the social impact of waste management policies, and waste reduction are to be prioritized.

A Study to Assess the Knowledge on Biomedical Waste Management Among GNM Students at Selected School of Nursing, Vrindavan, Mathura, U.P.

In pursuing the aim of abating health problems and enhancing the quality of care, healthcare facilities inevitably create waste that may itself be hazardous to health. Proper management of such waste is not only a legal, but also a social responsibility of the hospitals. Segregation at the site of waste generation is the first and foremost important step in healthcare waste management. It is emphasized as a means of ensuring that hazardous healthcare risk waste and healthcare general waste are separated and stored in appropriate containers. The importance of segregation is highlighted by the mere fact that only 10% to 25% of waste generated in health facilities is hazardous. Failure of this vital step turns non-hazardous waste into hazardous. Segregation also enables those who handle the containers outside the hospital wards to identify and treat them appropriately. There has been a sharp increase in the amount of waste generated from both health facilities and households. It is estimated that 0.5 to 2.0 kg per bed per day hospital waste is generated in India. Therefore, Biomedical waste must be properly managed and disposed of to protect the environment, general public and workers, especially healthcare and sanitation workers who are at risk of exposure to biomedical waste as an occupational hazard. Objectives 1-To assess the level of knowledge among the GNM students regarding Biomedical waste in selected hospital of Vrindavan. 2- To correlate the knowledge of GNM students regarding Biomedical waste with selected demographic variables Methodology: This study was conducted to assess knowledge among the GNM students regarding Biomedical waste in selected Hospital in Vrindavan, Mathura and the descriptive study design was selected. Population selected was GNM students and sample size were 70. The consent was taken from samples. The subjects were selected by convenient sampling technique. The structured questionnaires were distributed to the students to assess their level of knowledge regarding Biomedical waste management after obtaining an informed consent. Data was collected by using Structured Knowledge Questionnaire. Results: The study revealed that the level of knowledge among the students who has inadequate knowledge was 12.85% those who have moderate knowledge is 67.15% and adequate 20%. The chi-square test revealed that there was significant association with age, and training attended by students on Biomedical waste management and there is no significant association with year, source of information, area of working. Keywords: Biomedical waste, Management, knowledge

The Key Organizational Factors in Healthcare Waste Management Practices of Libyan Public Hospitals

This study aims to investigate factors contributing to healthcare waste management practices among Libyan public hospitals. The organizational culture and structure are proposed to have their effect upon hospital organizational units in charge of healthcare waste production by a theoretical review to develop two main hypotheses. Hence, this study used the stratified random sampling technique to select respondents such as top management officials, heads of departments, and administrators who work in all the hospitals located in the south of Libya, from whom data was collected. The data for the study was gathered via a survey questionnaire from Libyan public hospitals in the country’s southern region. A total of 210 questionnaires were distributed and 171 usable responses were received, yielding a 70% response rate. Though the findings of the study show some inconsistency, the two dimensions of the culture examined in this study are found to have a positive relationship and significant influence on the management practices of health waste. Besides, it shows the positive relationship between organizational structure and healthcare waste management practices (HWMP). However, the findings of this study suggested that nurses and cleaners’ practices should critically consider structure dimensions such as formalization as well as moderating variables such as hospital location and type of services supplied on the interactions to improve the management of healthcare waste in Libya’s public hospitals.

A Comparative Study on the Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception toward Hazardous Medical Waste Produced at Home in a Coastal City of Karnataka, India

Introduction Hazardous healthcare waste produced at home contributes to approximately 0.5% of biomedical waste, and although potentially infectious, is often discarded with other domestic wastes. The study aimed to quantify and compare types and patterns of biomedical waste generated in homes and to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding biomedical waste among selected urban and rural households in the coastal area of Mangalore city in Karnataka. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in households consisting of rural and urban field practice areas of a tertiary care hospital in coastal Karnataka from November 2017 to February 2018. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire on knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding healthcare waste generated at home was assessed. Qualitative variables of the waste segregation practice, types of biomedical waste, the knowledge, perception, and attitude to practices regarding biomedical waste were expressed in percentages proportions and analyzed using SPSS v.20. Results Baby diapers were the most common hazardous waste. The number of baby diapers produced daily in rural and urban areas was 32 (42.7%) and 64 (85.3%), respectively. The urban households had better knowledge of possible hazardous healthcare waste at home, 28 (37.33%) compared with 7 (9.3%) in rural households. Seventy-one (94.7%) urban and 49 (65.3%) rural households had a favorable attitude toward the disposal of hazardous domestic biomedical waste. Conclusion The knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding hazardous healthcare waste produced at the household level were better among urban households compared with rural households.

An assessment tool for healthcare waste management in Brazilian municipalities during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has put healthcare waste management (HCWM) systems under pressure worldwide. In Brazil, where municipalities routinely experience challenges in ensuring suitable disposal of healthcare waste (HCW), the pandemic has made this even more challenging. Therefore, the creation of tools and methods to help in municipal HCWM during the COVID-19 pandemic is of utmost importance. This article presents the development of a tool to evaluate HCWM in Brazilian municipalities during the pandemic. Following guidelines of health agencies, 56 indicators and 18 criteria were selected to create a tool called the municipal healthcare waste management assessment index (iMHWaste). These indicators and criteria were divided into operational, environmental, political–economic, educational and social groups. Each group considers essential aspects for sustainable management, safety and reduced spread of coronavirus. The analytic hierarchy process was used to assign the weights attributed to the groups and criteria. The indicators can be measured according to a standardized rating scale proposed for each one. These elements were aggregated with a weighted linear combination, into an equation that allows the calculation of the iMHWaste. The index is rated on a scale of 0–1. The index was applied in a Brazilian municipality considering a pre-pandemic HCWM. With the identification of the municipality’s management weaknesses, it was possible to identify the main actions that should be prioritized in the transition from traditional HCWM during the pandemic.