In COVID-era trash surge, waste management ingenuity, circularity, and investments are key
Today's guest blog is courtesy of the World Bank. The original post can be read here.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and with little warning, municipalities suddenly faced unique waste management challenges: massive upticks in daily waste volumes combined with curtailed garbage collection and cutbacks in recycling. While workplace waste production fell at the pandemic’s height, household waste rose to a degree that offset the decrease in commercial waste. With the exponential increase in the number of ill patients needing treatment, medical waste volumes surged as well.
Regions with poor waste management infrastructure were least able to handle the rapid influx of additional waste, which in many cases overwhelmed existing dump sites or landfills, amplifying negative environmental and social impacts.
Against this backdrop, the waste management industry is responding with ingenuity, creativity, and resilience. Consider…