Discarded syringes, used packaging from coronavirus tests and old vaccine vials have piled up and created tens of thousands of tons of medical waste, threatening human health and the environment, says a World Health Organization report released today.
This material, some of which may be infectious as coronavirus can survive on surfaces, potentially exposes health workers to burns, syringe needle injuries and disease-causing microbes, the report said.
Communities located near mismanaged landfills also risk being affected through polluted air from burning waste, poor water quality or epidemics, the report adds.
The report calls for reforms and investment through various initiatives such as reducing the use of plastic packaging and the preferred use of protective equipment made from reusable and recycled materials.
It is estimated that approximately 87,000 tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE), equivalent to the weight of several hundred blue whales, were ordered through a UN portal by November 2021 and most of the order is presumed to have ended up in the trash.
The report cites about 140 million coronavirus test kits with the potential to turn into 2,600 tons of mostly plastic trash and enough chemical waste to fill a third of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
In addition, about eight billion doses of vaccines administered worldwide are estimated to have caused another 144.000 tonnes of waste in the form of glass vials, syringes, needles and paper packaging.
The WHO report does not specifically mention where the most hazardous concentrations of waste are found, but cites limited formal waste management in rural India and a huge volume of faecal matter from quarantine facilities in Madagascar.
Even before the pandemic about a third of sanitary facilities were not equipped to manage existing waste volumes, which in poor countries was as high as 60%, the WHO notes.
Source: APM
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