Masks, gloves, gowns, and other protective equipment produced by hospitals, healthcare facilities, and individuals can be infected with the virus, leading to public health risks. Nine 1-2p Factsheets are available.
Factsheet topics:
- Introduction to COVID-10 Waste Management (covering short-term and long-term response);
- National Medical Waste Capacity Assessment (to help countries assess the quantities of infected waste and technologies to treat it);
- How to Choose Your Waste Management Technology (best environmental practices and available technology, using the UNEP Sustainability Assessment of Technologies);
- Policy and Legislation Linked to COVID-19 Pandemics (to help countries have a stable legal and institutional basis for response);
- Links to Circularity: Non-Healthcare Waste (household and personal health products that may impact soil, rivers, oceans, biodiversity, and human health;
- Linkages of Air Quality and COVID-19 (unsound practices such as open burning);
- Household Medical Waste Management (in the developing world, growing numbers of cases will have to self-medicate at home; proper management will become key to further spread);
- Disaster and Conflict (on safe, efficient, and appropriate solutions for managing contaminated wastes in refugee camps and informal settlements);
- COVID-19, Wastewater, and Sanitation (raw sewage and partly-treated wastewater can potentially spread COVID faster; discarded medical products bring additional challenges).
