COVID-19’s Impact on Waste Management

Sarah Borzo, Education and Outreach Coordinator for Metro Waste Authority, describes how COVID-19 has impacted waste management.

• How has pandemic impacted the environment?

• Are there health risks or concerns with PPE being disposed of into the waste stream?
• What can we learn from this experience and change in preparation for possible future pandemics?

Students could:

• Locate local, regional and global data to evaluate changes in water quality, air quality and temperature.
• Identify waste management practices and how those practices were impacted with the design of better methods.
• Identify and evaluate human behaviors, and develop an educational plan* to promote safe disposal of PPE (*Students could create podcasts, brochures, public service announcements, etc.).

• National Institutes of Health | Environmental effects of COVID-19 pandemic and potential strategies of sustainability: This literature review explores the positive and negative environmental impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Hub | The Environmental Toll of Fighting COVID-19: This article, published in John Hopkins Magazine, discusses how to balance personal protection from COVID-19 with environmental responsibility.
• COVID-19 Pandemic and Environmental Health: Effects and the Immediate Need for a Concise Risk Analysis: This article discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic may be associated with significant environmental health hazards and the need for continual risk analysis and management from all relevant stakeholders.
• Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) | Iowa's Air Quality: This tool provides data from the Iowa DNR for air quality and water quality.