Sharad Shreshta

The COVID-19, first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019, is characterised by respiratory infection, which can progress to pneumonia, severe lung damage and death. According to WHO, the virus can survive for up to 72 hours on plastic and steel surfaces, and 24 hours on cardboard, Some can even hang around for up to 28 days in low temperatures.
WHO has indicated that there is no evidence of dissemination of COVID-19 by direct contamination to the unprotected waste collectors or workers. The waste should be treated, preferably on-site, and then could be safely disposed. Contaminated waste should be disinfected first. The WHO guidelines suggest that all waste materials from the infected people should be tightly packed and then handed over to the waste collectors.

Waste Management
Tissues or other materials used when sneezing or coughing should immediately be thrown in a waste bin. After such disposal, correct hand hygiene should be performed. It is a known fact that urbanisation is ever expanding, where consumerism culture could prevail in coming days that will only generate more wastes. The organic wastes would shrink and inorganic wastes could increase.
Nepal, which is ever focusing on solid waste transfer rather than management, has continuously seen not only the deteriorating environment and public health but also loosing the useful resources.
The waste management issues always remain in the darker side of the society, which is fully ignored by the whole mechanism that makes wastes that are neither properly handled, nor managed, nor adequately recycled for turning them into a functional resources. The urbanisation in Nepal is rapidly increasing, where waste generation is multiplying by several folds.
According to ADB Report, 2013, the per capita waste generation is 317g/day and it also suggested that the half of it get collected. It could be presumed that the percent is bit improving these days as local government is formed and get autonomy to manage waste under its jurisdiction.
More importantly, the recently declared metropolitan city or adjoining municipalities have also shown some remarkable trends of waste collection and transfer, but not management scheme started as of the study period. No matter when and where the waste materials are generated, they need to be segregated, transported and processed as much as possible and dumped.
In the context of COVID-19, the collection should be carried out more cautiously. According to WHO, they need to be sterilised at the site and collectors should be equipped with personal protective equipments (PPEs).
The major challenges of waste management indicate that the wastes are not generally air-tight packed while disposing, and even using plastics is not enough to contain the likely virus spread. Low number of tracking, tracing and testing indicated that any household could be living with virus in the city. Any waste stuff could be infectious in the sack of wastes, which is generally handled by the waste workers, as most of them are working all the way without having appropriate protective equipment.
There are low level of chemicals, infrastructure and other resources available to sterilise, or disinfect them. The public denial is about to sprout to dump the wastes in their territory in the light of suspecting COVID-19 existence in the wastes.
The opportunities for the waste management are feasible from behaviour changes, technology use, sanitation issues and management. With fear of contamination, 50% of waste collection pattern in 2011, which have seen 81% in some urban areas of our studies could turn into 100% as of now, as no one wants to posses the suspicious wastes in their yard.
There is almost no waste processing facilities in the country, the emerging concept could create positive stimulants to have some incinerators, disinfectants tunnels and spray, and waste packaging machineries may come to roll out in future.
Misconception about preferences of virus in wastes may inspire waste workers use PPEs and sanitize them in regular basis even for future. Is more likely that WASH sector will get proper attention even in future with insignificant social campaigns. Local government may think processing facilities could be destiny for any kind of wastes and is the only solution to contain the microorganism spread.
As COVID-19 surges up, the infected wastes also could be expanded and goes beyond to the limit to handle effectively, if it is contagious and spread to nationwide. But mechanization of the collection, disinfecting from the distance and automation of the processing could be the best solution to which local government should consult with concern experts for the purpose.

Contagious Waster Materials
So Contagious or suspected contagious waste materials collected from the hospitals, quarantines, isolated homes should be differently processed segregating from non-infected households wastes during the COVID-19 period.
The waste management scheme should come to new height of mechanization and automation of the process that should include recycling, energy and materials recovery. Increased volume of waste plastics in the form of PPEs and also packaging of food and waste materials has to be converted into more useful products as it is the most universal recyclable materials.
The novel waste management mechanism has to be formulated in the country considering the societal consciousness level and regulating the waste disposal process with due focus on international norms and practices.
Finally, the infected wastes from hospitals, quarantine centres, isolated homes and other possible areas could be cautiously collected and handled so that COVID-19 couldn’t be spread out of waste collection stations.
The normal households’ wastes could also be collected with high alertness and safety during COVID-19 period. After this period, energy recovery and materials recycling / up cycling should be also opted. Social distance should always be maintained for safety. The local government should make effective plans and programmes for the waste management in the present scenario.

(Shrestha writes on environmental issues)