Hope Highlight: Exploring the potential to prevent and repurpose pandemic pollution.
Before COVID, the most talked about ongoing crisis of our generation was the environment. Although replaced by the pandemic, the problem has certainly not disappeared and the emerging medical requirements to both treat and fight the spread of the virus, has made the issue worse. Instead, the world is sinking in single use medical waste—adding an intensified challenge for the world.
The utilization and disposal of PPE, contaminated sharps, hospital bedding, infection testing, and swab material has never been so high. Already a significant contributor to landfill before the pandemic, it’s now a problem of Everest-like proportions.
Clever environmental engineers, medical scientists and Medtech companies with an environmental conscious and sustainable approach are working harder and smarter behind the scenes to tackle this rising tide of waste but are so far losing the battle as these alternatives or solutions are often more expensive to employ.
Numedico Technologies is one of these conscious companies. Established in 2016 out of desire to pursue optimal Medtech solutions and to challenge the status quo, Numedico is a globally focused safety medical devices manufacturer and distributor based in Australia. They provide high quality medical supplies to hospitals, healthcare services and consumers for at home health care.
A key priority for Numedico is safety and sustainability. They push themselves to be better today than they were yesterday and build business through best practice and collaborative partnerships. Numedico is committed to research, innovation and pursuing medical technology to create more sustainable medical supplies and build a more environmentally focused industry.
The Sterilis Solutions™ (RMW) Auto-Clave Grinding System is one partnership they have engaged in to bring better environmental solutions to life and provide a more eco-friendly option for the healthcare industry.
This technology can reduce the volume of waste and transform it from bio-hazardous detritus, such as needles, into a safe and recyclable confetti-like material potentially repurposed as insulation or soft furniture filling.
The Sterilis Solution system is small, compact, and easy to use in large-scale hospital settings or small medical clinics and health service practices and provides a universal and safe solution for the disposal of remediated medical waste (RMW). It can be on site, even in theatre, reducing transport and storage costs.
PPE pollution from single-use masks is a covid-induced catalyst of plastic in our oceans—something we can all help stem.
In 2020, a report released by Hong-Kong-based marine conservation organization OceansAsia estimated that 1.5 billion face masks would litter our oceans—resulting in an additional 4,680 to 6,240 metric tonnes of marine plastic pollution. These masks will take as long as 450 years to break down, slowly turning into micro plastics while negatively impacting marine wildlife and ecosystems.
The report used a global production estimate of 52 billion masks being manufactured in 2020, a conservative loss rate of 3%, and the average weight of 3 to 4 grams for a single-use polypropylene surgical face mask to arrive at the estimate.
The use of PPE, in particular face masks, has become a common tool used in preventing the spread of the virus, with many jurisdictions mandating the wearing of masks in public. The production of PPE has expanded in an attempt to meet skyrocketing demand, and PPE waste has also increased dramatically.
Single-use face masks are made from a variety of meltblown plastics and are difficult to recycle due to both composition and risk of contamination and infection. They enter oceans when they are littered, when waste management systems are inadequate or non-existent, or when these systems become overwhelmed due to increased volumes of waste.
“Marine plastic pollution is devastating our oceans,” says Gary Stokes, Operations Director of OceansAsia. “Plastic pollution kills an estimated 100,000 marine mammals and turtles, over a million seabirds, and even greater numbers of fish, invertebrates and other animals each year. It also negatively impacts fisheries and the tourism industry, and costs the global economy an estimated $13 billion USD per year.”
The report asks people to wear reusable masks whenever possible, dispose of masks responsibly and reduce their overall consumption of single-use plastic. It also calls on governments to:
- Implement policies designed to encourage the use of reusable masks, such as releasing guidelines regarding the proper manufacture and use of reusable masks.
- Foster innovation and the development of sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic masks.
- Discourage littering by increasing fines and educate the public about responsible ways to dispose of masks.
- Repair and improve waste management systems to reduce losses and spillage.
“It is critical that we work to reduce our use of single-use plastics, and we all have a role to play,” says Dr. Phelps Bondaroff. There are reusable and sustainable options for almost every single-use plastic item. Please wear a reusable mask, unless absolutely necessary, and be sure to dispose of all masks responsibly.
Learn more about covid waste, and how it affects marine life: oceansasia.org
References:
Kalantary, R.R., Jamshidi, A., Mofrad, M.M.G. et al. Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on medical waste management: a case study. J Environ Health Sci Engineer 19, 831–836 (2021). doi:10.1007/s40201-021-00650-9
Maalouf A, Maalouf H. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on medical waste management in Lebanon. Waste Management & Research. 2021;39(1_suppl):45-55. doi:10.1177/0734242X211003970
Atanu Kumar Das, Md. Nazrul Islam, Md. Morsaline Billah, Asim Sarker. COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare solid waste management strategy—A mini-review. Science of The Total Environment, Volume 778, 2021. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146220.
Phelps Bondaroff, Teale, and Cooke, Sam. (OceansAsia, 2020). Masks on the Beach: The impact of COVID-19 on marine plastic pollution.
