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 manag...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
2021-12-01
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| Series: | 대한환경공학회지 |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.jksee.or.kr/journal/view.php?number=4370 |
| _version_ | 1798013943342432256 |
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| author | Jeongyeon Yoon Younghan Yoon Sang Leen Yun Wontae Lee |
| author_facet | Jeongyeon Yoon Younghan Yoon Sang Leen Yun Wontae Lee |
| author_sort | Jeongyeon Yoon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T15:10:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-be57e4c6e16b46a99200258d47d3ed81 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1225-5025 2383-7810 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T15:10:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Korean Society of Environmental Engineers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | 대한환경공학회지 |
| spelling | doaj.art-be57e4c6e16b46a99200258d47d3ed812022-12-22T04:16:40ZengKorean Society of Environmental Engineers대한환경공학회지1225-50252383-78102021-12-01431273974610.4491/KSEE.2021.43.12.739The Current State of Management and Disposal of Wastes Related to COVID-19 : A reviewJeongyeon Yoon0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6272-2143Younghan Yoon1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8187-8223Sang Leen Yun2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8243-4002Wontae Lee3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9660-4455Gyeongsangbukdo Government Public Institute of Health & EnvironmentKorea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building TechnologyKorea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building TechnologyKumoh national Institute of TechnologyObjectives 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.https://www.jksee.or.kr/journal/view.php?number=4370covid-19plastic wastemedical wastewaste managementwaste disposal |
| spellingShingle | Jeongyeon Yoon Younghan Yoon Sang Leen Yun Wontae Lee The Current State of Management and Disposal of Wastes Related to COVID-19 : A review 대한환경공학회지 covid-19 plastic waste medical waste waste management waste disposal |
| title | The Current State of Management and Disposal of Wastes Related to COVID-19 : A review |
| title_full | The Current State of Management and Disposal of Wastes Related to COVID-19 : A review |
| title_fullStr | The Current State of Management and Disposal of Wastes Related to COVID-19 : A review |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Current State of Management and Disposal of Wastes Related to COVID-19 : A review |
| title_short | The Current State of Management and Disposal of Wastes Related to COVID-19 : A review |
| title_sort | current state of management and disposal of wastes related to covid 19 a review |
| topic | covid-19 plastic waste medical waste waste management waste disposal |
| url | https://www.jksee.or.kr/journal/view.php?number=4370 |
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