Correct Procedure in Waste Disposal during the Pandemic

(Photo : Correct Procedure in Waste Disposal during the Pandemic)

In the year 2020, the world has been shaken because of the coronavirus disease. This illness is caused by the novel coronavirus (nCoV), temporarily named "2019-nCoV," then subsequently changed to "COVID-19 virus". The first human case of the COVID-19 was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan City, China.

The disease only spread rapidly from there, compelling the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the COVID-19 outbreak as a global health emergency last January 30, 2020. Then on March 11, 2020, it was declared by the WHO as a global pandemic.  

Due to the quick increase in cases, the management of healthcare waste has become a rising problem. If this waste is mishandled among the other types of waste, it may pose particular dangers to the public and negatively impact the environment. Do not fret because the following will help you understand the proper waste disposal of the different types of waste. 

Compostable Waste 

Compostable wastes are often waste from your kitchen, garden, bathroom, and office that can be turned into compost. These materials include fruits, vegetables, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, nutshells, shredded newspaper, cardboard, paper, leaves, sawdust, wood chips, cotton and wool rags, dryers, vacuum cleaner lint, hair and fur, fireplace ashes, etc. 

Composting Basics

There are three (3) primary components when you are starting to compost. They are:

1. Browns. Basically waste that is color brown such as dried leaves, twigs, and branches. The browns provide the carbon for the compost.

2. Greens. Wastes including fruit and vegetable scraps, grass, and coffee grounds. These materials will provide nitrogen.

3. Water. The water's purpose is to provide moisture that will help break down the organic matter.

There has to be an equal ratio of browns and greens to create good compost. Nevertheless, there is also waste that you cannot include in your compost such as dairy products, meat or fish bones, insect-ridden plants, coal or charcoal ash, fats and oils, pet waste, etc. It is because some materials release harmful substances to plants or are infected with parasites.

Composting helps enrich the soil, which will help retain moisture and repress plant diseases and pests. As well as helping in the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi reduces methane emissions, thus lowering your carbon footprint, and you will not need chemical fertilizers. 

Recyclable Waste

Recyclable waste is often dry waste that you can benefit from in the future. This waste can be retrieved, cleaned, and then converted to something of beneficial use or purpose. They can be turned into home decorations, containers, or even sold for specific amounts of money. They are dry waste that can be recycled. 

This trash includes office papers, magazines, newspapers, junk mail, cardboard, glass bottles. Jars, milk and juice cartons, plastic bottles and containers, and tin and aluminum cans. Old clothing can be donated to your local charity stores or charity of your choosing. Recyclable wastes are often put into yellow lid bins and are collected by your local government unit. 

Recycling is implemented to reduce the use of raw materials that could have been used instead. Through this method, waste can be turned into raw materials, reduce the need for waste disposal, reduce energy consumption, reduce pollution in landfills and waters.

Non-Recyclable/ Residual Waste

They are waste materials that can either be wet or dry, not biodegradable, and recyclable. This waste includes laminated papers, photographic film, vinyl, packaging bags, microwave containers, wet cardboard, hardcover books, binders, plastic cups and cutlery, ceramics, mirrors, and crisp packets, cling films, etc.

These materials cannot be decomposed or reused; however, residual waste can be used as fuel source from waste facilities. They burn the non-recyclable materials, producing steam and powering the steam turbine to make electricity. 

Healthcare Waste

As a result of the pandemic, there is a tremendous increase in healthcare waste generated from hospitals, medical centers, quarantine facilities, and general households. This waste is a by-product of health care, including needles and syringes, soiled dressing, blood, body parts, tissues, face masks, gloves, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, radioactive materials, etc.

The following can be done for the disposal of prescription drugs: 

1. You can take them to drug take-back programs.

2. If specified explicitly in the label, you can flush the medicine in your bathrooms or sinks.

3. Dispose of the medicine together with the other healthcare trashes.

This type of waste should be disposed of immediately in separate yellow waste bags labeled "hazardous healthcare waste" or "infected waste." To avoid contamination to your waste collectors, you can disinfect your used masks and gloves by soaking it in a diluted bleach solution, which is one tablespoon of bleach to 1.5 liters of water for 30 minutes.  

Takeaway

Due to the pandemic, everything has been affected and forced the world to adapt to it, becoming the new normal. There are over 50 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide and over 1.25 million deaths already because of COVID-19. However, even with simple things such as wearing a mask, staying at home, and cleaning, we can help stop the virus's spread. 

More importantly, proper waste management is one of the sanitary barriers we can do to prevent diseases and illnesses such as COVID-19. We have to be aware of our responsibilities and be mindful of our action's consequences because it affects not only ourselves but also our environment.