As we’ve all paid a lot more attention to avoiding illness the past couple of years, we’ve also had to think about some new kinds of waste. We’re figuring out how to recycle disposable masks and properly dispose of cloth masks to avoid PPE pollution. We worry whether all those little plastic bottles of hand sanitizer will end up polluting the ocean and if cloth masks expose us to toxins. It’s almost enough to make […]

The industry is rarely mentioned among the chief planet polluters — and companies are intensifying their sustainability efforts to make sure it stays that way. In August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body of scientists convened by the United Nations, issued a long-anticipated report. You probably heard about it: Based on more than 14,000 studies and approved by the government of every U.N. member nation, the IPCC report is the most comprehensive […]

It feels a little cynical to come to final conclusions about effects of the global COVID-pandemic while the world is still in the midst of rampant infection waves. For the treatment of health care waste, however, we can at least come to an interim conclusion, because the epidemiological and technological facts are clear. While the whole world realized with a sigh of relief, that the virus is rarely transmitted via objects – and medical waste […]

From surgical masks and gloves to disposable hospital gowns and aprons, the COVID-19 pandemic is creating a mountain of plastic medical waste that is polluting the land and sea — alarming doctors and environmentalists alike. One young entrepreneur in Mexico has now invented a range of reusable PPE (personal protective equipment) she hopes will stop metric tons of single-use medical wear ending up in landfill, incinerators, and waterways — and save hospitals a fortune. Tamara […]

Innovators and entrepreneurs across the world are pioneering solutions to address the pandemic related plastic waste explosion. The Covid-19 pandemic threatens to undo decades worth of progress achieved by the recycling industry in tackling global plastic pollution. Demand for plastic has risen, with the production of surgical masks, medical gowns, face shields, safety glasses, protective aprons, plastic shoes and gloves now proliferating. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 1,6 million tonnes of plastic were generated […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased vigilance over the proper disposal of vaccine-related materials, such as vials, needles, syringes, and bandages. Pharmacy-based immunizations have become standard over the past 2 decades in the United States, a service that has positively affected every community.1 More than 280,000 pharmacists have been trained to administer vaccines in the United States since 1996, and since 2016, more than 25% of adults have received influenza vaccinations in pharmacies.1 As […]

On April 30, 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement office issued a memorandum titled “Strengthening Enforcement in Communities with Environmental Justice Concerns.” In light of the Biden administration’s recent focus on environmental justice and other social responsibility initiatives within environmental regulation, there is heightened scrutiny around compliance with environmental requirements; therefore, supermarkets, box stores, and other commercial businesses administering COVID-19 vaccines should consider the reputational risk of improper handling and disposal of medical […]

The COVID-19 pandemic instantly increased demand for some types of medical waste management, such as the disposal of personal protective equipment and testing supplies. Waste management companies met this challenge last year, but it required a lot of flexibility, they said. This year, health care providers have to dispose millions of needles and empty vaccine vials. But a shortage of sharps containers, the plastic buckets in which clinicians throw away old syringes and vials, is […]

The increase in the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) and its use during the COVID-19 pandemic has produced a rise in medical waste as institutions dispose of gowns, gloves, masks, face shields and shoe covers that have been exposed to the virus. “There definitely is more regulated medical waste being generated, and a lot of it is derived from PPE,” said Rudy Vingris, the health care business development manager at Waste Management Sustainability Services. […]

In any given year, vaccines are given out and needles and syringes have to be disposed of. But what about this year? How much excess medical waste is created by COVID-19 vaccinations? In short, it’s a lot. Naomi Friesz, a nurse, has been doling out shots on the frontlines since they were made available. She said Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health, alone, has given out thousands, likely tens of thousands more doses this year than any other […]