COVID-19 caused an increase in trash both locally and worldwide

As COVID-19’s shutdowns, face masks, social distancing, Zoom meetings and drive-by birthday parties become just paragraphs in history books, the trash created is still in landfills, oceans, streets and fields.

While CO2 levels in the atmosphere dropped due to the change in driving habits, plastic waste, burning of medical and recyclable material and the throwing away of masks and other PPE caused harm to the environment according to many experts.

The United Nations Environment Programme estimated that in 2020 health care facilities around the world were producing about 7.5 pounds of COVID-related medical waste per person per day worldwide.

A 2021 study by United Nations Environment Programme and International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) reported that while burning the waste significantly reduced volume, ensured decontamination it also required high energy, produced nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and potential emission of carcinogenics.

Research done by the National Academy of Sciences found the treatment of plastic waste did not keep up with the increased demand for plastic products during the pandemic. Pandemic epicenters in particular struggled to process the waste and not all the used PPE and packaging materials were handled correctly or recycled. Some of this waste was then discharged into the environment and a portion reached the oceans then transported over long distances, encountering marine wildlife and potentially causing injury or even death.

Local issues mirrored world issues as San Benito County entered its stay-at-home period and as residents fell ill. “We did not keep exact numbers but the purchase and the disposal of PPE rose exponentially,” Frankie Gallagher, PIO for Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, said of crisis. After many mask mandates were over in California mask mandates remained in place in medical facilities for staff, patients and visitors.

Other waste was also generated and according to Celina Stotler of SBC Integrated Waste Management, while there was a drop in volume of commercial waste there was an increase in residential waste. She noted that per state and local mandates restaurants were required to give plastic ware with to-go orders and supermarkets could not permit shoppers to bring their own bags.

As people lived their lives from home there was an uptick in ordering from online sites such as Amazon. This resulted in an increase of waste going to the landfill and recycling facilities. With an increase in food delivery cardboard food containers such as pizza boxes were not routinely going into the green waste bin but rather into the grey (garbage) bin and single use non-recyclable plastics were going into the recycle bin instead of the grey bin.

“With the increase in single use plastics used at home and at business during COVID,” Stotler said, “we saw an increase in contamination of that exact material in the recycling stream in San Benito County as residents and businesses are placing single use plastics like plastic packaging or bags, film plastic, and plastic food ware in their blue cart or dumpster. These single use plastic items should be placed in your gray garbage cart.”

San Benito County Integrated Waste Management has guidelines for how to dispose of trash and how to create less waste in times of disasters, pandemics and in normal times as many items that went into the wrong bins during COVID still go into the wrong bins.

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