Tackling medical waste, post-Covid-19

New research suggests that more than 8 million tonnes of Covid-19pandemic-related plastic waste were generated globally.

Plastic waste causes great harm to marine life and has globally become an environmental concern. At least 14 million tonnes of plastics end up in the ocean every year, making up 80% of all marine debris.

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increased demand for single-use plastic in the form of disposable masks and gloves. New research has found that more than 8 million tonnes of pandemic-related plastic waste have been generated globally, and 25 000 tonnes of it has flowed into the world’s oceans.

Published in PNAS, the research article titled ‘Plastic waste release caused by Covid-19 and its fate in the global ocean’ used data from the start of the pandemic in 2020 through August 2021 and found that most of this global plastic waste entering the ocean is coming from Asia. “When we started doing the math, we were surprised to find that the amount of medical waste was substantially larger than the amount of waste from individuals, and a lot of it was coming from Asian countries, even though that’s not where most of the Covid-19 cases were,” says study co-author Amina Schartup, an assistant professor at Scripps Oceanography.

The researchers from Nanjing University’s School of Atmospheric Sciences and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography used a model to evaluate the massive amount of plastic waste and its impact on the marine environment in the future. The model suggests that by the end of this century, almost all of the pandemic-associated plastics will end up in either the seabed (28.8%) or beaches (70.5%), potentially hurting those ecosystems.

The study authors are therefore calling for better medical waste management in pandemic epicentres, especially in developing countries. Justice Tootla, managing director at Averda, agrees that medical waste must be carefully regulated, adding that it needs to be destroyed or disinfected at specialist treatment facilities, as it poses a contamination risk.

“In the case of the medical waste processed by Averda, the waste is either incinerated or shredded into small particles and thereafter deactivated by means of microwave technology.”

Averda is a national leader in the safe collection, transport and treatment of infectious, pathological and pharmaceutical waste streams.

Waste becomes more healthcare-focused

Tootla noted that the pandemic changed the nature of residential waste – making it more medical. The increased use of personal protective equipment (PPE) introduced the need for the disposal of medical-type waste within domestic waste streams. Citizens now needed to start complying with new regulations they were not familiar with. Realising that waste had become more ‘healthcare’ focused, the waste management sector had to make some changes. The first was to help educate non-medical professionals on the correct way of handling their waste,

especially items that had previously never been considered hazardous, such as used tissues.

In January 2021 alone, Averda treated over 600 tonnes of Covid waste, and these volumes remained at around 450 tonnes per month for most of 2021. With the roll-out of the vaccine, the medical waste landscape changed once again with a further increase in the volume of ‘sharps’.

“South Africa has an established hazardous waste management system in place that complies with global standards and has had its competence and effectiveness tested by previous outbreaks of other viruses. The pandemic just necessitated the need to educate citizens on how to correctly dispose of this ‘new’ waste stream,” Tootla explains.

Changing landscape

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, there were standard health and safety policies and protocols in place, but these were not enough, he adds. While South African law focuses on the control of waste within organisations and communities, there is little legislation that specifically supports waste workers who are at the coalface of this vital and hazardous industry.

Averda had to implement specific measures – at the start of the lockdown in particular – to ensure that protocols and procedures were updated to protect clients and staff. This included: • the revision and training on stricter waste handling procedures • ensuring consistent supply of PPE • clocking stations upgraded to no-touch facial recognition biometrics • temperature testing and self-declarations (including co-morbidities) of all people who enter the sites. High-risk employees were identified and, on consultation with medical professionals, alternative work arrangements were made to limit their exposure.

“In preparation for the rollout of vaccinations, Averda also made provision with all their medical waste container suppliers for the increase in the demand for sharps containers to ensure they would be able to deal with the increase in demand, collection and safe disposal of this waste,” says Tootla.

Not business as usual

“It’s important to remember that South Africa has the capacity to manage Covid waste, thanks to timely investments in specialised medical waste treatment centres by companies like Averda, which have, on occasion, even partnered to ensure that national requirements are met,” Tootla adds.

However, the pandemic necessitated a change in procedure. One of the biggest changes has been how businesses globally have re-evaluated their approach to facility cleaning and hygiene regimes, including the revision of waste management activities and protocols.

Tootla notes that one of the most interesting developments in major companies is how they are now including their new cleaning and waste management protocols into their communication strategies and incorporating these into their brand messaging. “Waste generators have a legal responsibility, according to the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (No. 59 of 2008), to take all appropriate steps to manage waste in such a way that it does not harm health or the environment,” he says. are expected to decline over the coming months, this will simultaneously be offset by increases in other medical waste types, as hospitals and other medical facilities revert to post-Covid activities and normal operations.

Therefore, in 2022, Averda plans to focus on the creation of additional plant capacity at the City Deep and George facilities, as both sites are close to capacity and demand levels continue to grow.

Averda is one of a few waste management companies in South Africa that manages the entire end-to-end process of the collection, treatment and disposal of medical waste – from point of generation to landfill.

The tracking of waste is strictly monitored through the company’s digital technology – from when the container leaves the client’s facility to the point of final disposal.

“Our digital tracking system is completely paperless, instead using a hygienic ‘sign on glass’ system. We monitor our vehicle and crew in real time, ensuring the route, driving behaviour, task requirements and crew’s transactions with our clients are tracked and recorded.”

Additionally, Averda’s branded vehicles are fully compliant with hazardous waste collection and hazmat requirements, marked with 6.2 infectious waste signage, and specifically engineered for the transportation of medical waste.