WHO Warns COVID-19 Medical Waste Threatens Human Health And The Environment, The Number Reaches Hundreds Of Thousands Of Tons

Illustration of a medical trash can in a hospital. (Wikimedia Commons/Stephen Witherden)

JAKARTA - Used syringes, used test kits and used vaccine vials from the COVID-19 pandemic have piled up to generate tens of thousands of tons of medical waste, threatening human health and the environment, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported Tuesday.

These materials have the potential to expose health workers to burns, needle stick wounds and germs that cause disease, the report said.

"We found that COVID-19 has increased the burden of health care waste in facilities by 10-fold," Maggie Montgomery, WHO technical officer, told Geneva-based reporters.

He said the biggest risk to affected communities was air pollution caused by burning waste at temperatures that were not high enough to cause the release of carcinogens.

The report calls for reforms and investment, including through reducing the use of packaging that causes the plastic rush, to the use of protective equipment made from reusable and recyclable materials.

The WHO report estimates that around 87,000 tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE) or the equivalent of several hundred blue whales, have been ordered through UN portals through November 2021, most of which is expected to end up as waste.

The report also said about 140 million test kits with the potential to generate 2,600 tonnes of waste, mostly plastic and chemical waste, are enough to fill a third of an Olympic swimming pool.

In addition, it is estimated that about 8 billion doses of vaccine administered globally have generated an additional 144,000 tonnes of waste in the form of glass vials, syringes, needles and safety boxes.

Montgomery said misperceptions about the level of COVID-19 infection from surfaces were to blame for what he called "overuse" of protective equipment, especially gloves.

"We've all seen photos of moon suits, we've all seen photos of people being vaccinated with gloves on. Of course overall, people are wearing too much PPE," he said.

The WHO report did not cite specific examples where the most egregious build-up occurred, but did point to challenges such as limited sewage treatment and disposal in rural India, to large amounts of sewage sludge from quarantine facilities in Madagascar.

Even before the pandemic, according to WHO, about a third of health facilities were not equipped to handle the existing waste load. That's as high as 60 percent in poor countries, the report said.