This means having effective management systems in place, including guidance for health workers on what to do. The analysis points out that over 140 million test kits, with a potential to generate 2,600 tonnes of non-infectious waste (mainly plastic) - and 731,000 litres of chemical waste (equivalent to one-third of an Olympic-size swimming pool - have been shipped.Īt the same time, over 8 billion doses of vaccine have been administered globally producing 144,000 tonnes of additional waste in the form of syringes, needles, and safety boxes.Īs the UN and countries grappled with the immediate task of securing and quality-assuring supplies of PPE, less attention and resources were devoted to the safe and sustainable management of this waste.įor the Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Michael Ryan, this type of protection is vital, “but it is also vital to ensure that it can be used safely without impacting on the surrounding environment.” It does not consider any of the COVID-19 commodities procured outside of the initiative, nor waste generated by the public, like disposable masks. Most of this equipment is expected to have ended up as waste.įor the agency, this is just an initial indication of the scale of the problem. The estimates are based on the approximately 87,000 tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE) that was procured between March 2020 and November 2021 and shipped through a joint UN emergency initiative.
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