Mask consumption and biomedical waste generation rate during Covid-19 pandemic: A case study of central India

The rapid generation of biomedical waste (BMW) due to covid-19 pandemic has created burden on the existing municipal solid waste management (MSWM) system in both developed and developing countries. The substantial influx of covid patients in Maharashtra, India has influenced the pattern of BMW generation, especially for the yellow category of BMW and incineration facilities. The objective of the study was to estimate the daily face mask consumption (D_FM) and BMW generation from May 2020 to August 2021 in Maharashtra, India. The study was carried out based on the confirmed covid 19 cases, population forecast, urban population (%), BMW generation rate (kg/bed/day), and so on. The data set for the each paramters were collected from web-portals, published reports based on previous studies. These data sets were further regrouped, processed and analyised using mathematical equations. The study also revealed that Mumbai, Pune, and Thane districts, India has contributed ≥ 60% of the D_FM and BMW generation. It was found that the D_FM by non-covid patients was higher compared to the covid patients (D_CFM). Further, it was revealed that BMW generated in the months of July 2020 (152 tons/day), August 2020 (228 tons/day), September 2020 (364 tons/day), October 2020 (177 tons/day), March 2021 (405 tons/day), April 2021 (1,102 tons/day), May 2021 (705 tons/day), June 2021 (194 tons/day), and July 2021 (149 tons/day), exceeded the existing BMW treatment capcity of 132 tons/day. The sudden spike in covid-19 cases has influenced the pattern of D_FM and BMW generation, espeicllay for the yellow category of BMW (BMW_CY) and has increased the burden on BMW incineration facilities. The daily emission rates from BMW-incineration was in the order PM₁₀> NO₂> CO>SO₂, with maximum emission of PM₁₀ (85.61 kg of pollutant/day). The F-test was performed using one-way ANOVA to understand the influence of covid cases on daily face mask consumption. It was found that F-satistic of D_CFM and BMW_CY is more than the F-critical i.e., increase in covid cases had a significant effect on mass consumption rate and BMW generation.