Governments have been urged to treat waste management as an essential service in the face of Covid-19.
The United Nations Environment Programme said poor waste management could cause ‘unforeseen’ negative impact on human health as well as the environment.
“With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to spread and its impacts intensifying day-by-day, governments are urged to treat waste management as an urgent and essential public service to minimise possible secondary impacts upon health and the environment,” the environmental agency warned in a statement.
It said that during such an outbreak, additional medical and hazardous waste are generated, including infected masks, gloves and other protective equipment.
“Medical waste such as contaminated masks, gloves, used or expired medicines, and other items can easily become mixed with domestic garbage, but should be treated as hazardous waste and disposed of separately,” UNEP recommended.
In some of the guidelines issued by the Health ministry regarding daily personal preventive measures to be observed includes the use of face masks and using tissue papers while coughing or sneezing.
“Dispose of the tissue in a trash can or burn it,” reads an advisory published on the ministry’s website.
According to a study published on the New England Journal of Medicine, the virus was still detectable on copper for up to four hours, on cardboard for up to 24 hours, and on plastic and steel for up to 72 hours.
Effective management of biomedical and healthcare waste requires appropriate identification, collection, separation, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal.
Edited by A.N
