A sound COVID-19 response requires an adequate waste management response addressing the increase in the quantity of discarded single-use plastic items and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The COVID-19 crisis is having increasingly visible implications for waste management. For instance, the widespread disposable face masks are mostly made of Polyethylene—a plastic that is nearly impossible for nature to completely break down.
The LBS Protocol provides the legal framework for the prevention, reduction, assessment and control of waste, including plastics in the Mediterranean. UNEP/MAP response will address the following priority issues:
- ensuring that contaminated municipal and medical waste is managed and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner, thus avoiding related pollution discharge into the Sea and the respective coastal zones, in particular disposable PPE (such as masks, gloves and gowns).
- with a view to reducing medical waste generation: promoting, to the extent possible, the use of reusable material and discouraging the excessive use of single-use items when it is not mandatory based on WHO recommendations and/or relevant national health authority directives.
- promoting preventive measures to minimize the wildlife trapping/entanglement hazards of such material.
- mitigating possible impacts on the national processes and rules applied in the recycling of plastic wastes, as some household items may be exempted from recycling due to contamination risks. A potential roll back of regulations and measures on single-use plastic bags (such as bans or taxes) as part of the COVID-19 prevention efforts is also possible and will require further attention. Robust systems for waste segregation, collection and management are to be taken into account in the implementation and planned revision of the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management.
- ensuring interaction with and contribution to relevant global processes in the framework of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and WHO, especially those pertaining to the development of guidelines and best practices for the management of medical waste.
- assessing risks related to the possible contamination of the marine and coastal areas through wastewater outfalls. Specific analyses are required to identify potential traces of COVID-19 transferred to sea through treated wastewater and to assess any possibility of transmission through the trophic chain. In addition, the use of untreated wastewater for irrigation purposes in some Mediterranean countries should be assessed under the COVID-19 angle to address any potential risks.
- pursuing ongoing processes on development and/or updating of the UNEP/MAP legal and regulatory framework, including updating of the Annexes to the LBS Protocol and the development of new/updated Regional Plans (on municipal waste, sludge management, marine litter, etc.). This endeavour will consider these elements with a view to including provisions for contaminated municipal and medical waste, as appropriate, and analysis of wastewater to address potential contamination issues.
- strengthening efforts aiming to close all existing illegal dump sites on land and preventing any emerging illegal dumping of medical waste on beaches, in the sea and in rivers in accordance with the provisions of the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management.
- addressing the impact of increased demand for and production of cleaning products and disinfectants, including the swift introduction into the market of new disinfectants, in the context of the implementation of pollution-related Protocols of the Barcelona Convention. The aim is to ensure their proper use and assess as well as prevent any potential impacts on the marine and coastal environment.
- exploring links with the Hazardous Wastes Protocol, in cooperation with the BRS Convention, in view of promoting the ratification of the Protocol by more Contracting Parties and supporting them in building capacities for the development of national inventories of hazardous wastes and their environmentally sound disposal and management.
