Impacts of COVID-19 Outbreak on the Municipal Solid Waste Management: Now and beyond the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the municipal essential services, including municipal solid waste (MSW) management. This study has reviewed the literature on MSW and solid medical waste (SMW) management systems, waste management initiatives specific to this pandemic, as well as their impacts now and beyond. Waste segregation and separate treatment of waste streams play important roles in reducing the environmental, health, and social impacts of waste and waste management. The global warming potential of MSW and SMW were found to be varied from -0.64 to 520 kg CO₂ equiv/tonne and -52.1 to 3730 kg CO₂ equiv/tonne, respectively, which widely depend on the sterilization and disposal processes. Similarly, MSW and SMW disposal costs varied from 90 to $242/tonne and 12 to $1530.0/tonne, respectively. Various changes made to waste collection and management because of the COVID-19 pandemic affected waste segregation and recycling. Since the start of the pandemic, various sectors, including the food, waste management, and healthcare sectors, relied on the increased use of single-use plastics to prevent transmission of COVID-19. An environmentally friendly alternative (biodegradable/compostable) to widely used single-use plastics is desired for easing waste management problems. Although various initiatives are underway to manage growing volumes of MSW and SMW, while controlling the spreading of infectious diseases, the movable grate incineration technology coupled with an adequate disinfection process presents a potential solution in managing the COVID-19 waste challenges. The proper disinfection method and technological choices can mitigate the risk of spreading infections and can improve the waste management system's sustainability, especially the contaminated waste.