Estimation of COVID-19 generated medical waste in the Kingdom of Bahrain

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149642Get rights and content

Highlights

  • COVID-19 medical waste is a serious threat to the environment.

  • Bahrain faces solid waste in the form of Face masks, PPEs, vaccination, and tests.

  • Plastic is among the major portion of the waste requiring urgent attention.

  • Basic and environmental research for efficient waste conversion can addressing these challenges.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is not only a great matter of concern from a medical and health perspective, but it is a serious threat to the environment in terms of waste generated during the prevention and cure of COVID-19. The world has so far compromised more than 3 million human lives, and millions are being infected. Environmental threat is most serious because it can cause secondary complications. As per our knowledge, the amount of waste generated during the pandemic and its estimated quantity has not been assessed, thereby keeping the scientific community, Government authorities and public ignorant of its adverse effects. In this context, we have evaluated the waste generated by the Kingdom of Bahrain, estimated to be 35.480 kg/day (face masks), 1894 kg/day (PPEs) by the selected health facilities, 16,633.505 kg (vaccination-related) and 53,551.240 kg (related to tests conducted so far) in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Keywords

Environmental pollution
COVID-19
Solid medical waste
Personal protective equipment
Sustainable management

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