Medical waste management during COVID-19 pandemic, a review study

Abstract

Medical waste management problems are rising due to the crisis brought upon by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a worldwide pandemic. The security management of medical care worldwide increases their attention due to the high risk of COVID-19 medical waste. This paper gives a review of medical waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. Furthermore, an effort has been made to prepare a review of the characteristics, generation, collection, transportation, disposal, and treatment technologies of solid waste management worldwide. Detailed data on medical waste management practices, including collection, recovery, and disposal, have been presented. The poor medical waste management in Iraq before and during COVID-19 causes a huge environmental risk and can be a possible reappearing infection source. Hence, the study also points out some recommendations for handling COVID-19 pandemic medical waste properly to reduce possible secondary effects on health and the environment and manage any possible pandemics in the future.