Waste Management and Covid-19: What does the Scientific Literature Suggest?

The studies conducted on the effects of the health emergency due to COVID-19 have shown heavy consequences on human activities (industrial production, economic activities, tourism), but also interesting improvements for the quality of different environmental matrices (water, air, soil). The waste management sector, which represents an essential public utility service, has suffered very negative consequences. In fact, the global change in the behavior and habits of citizens and the variations in industrial, production and economic processes in general have altered the consolidated dynamics that governed the production and treatment of waste, putting them in crisis. This review intends to provide a structured and critical evaluation of the recent scientific literature about the study of the effect of health emergency on the waste management sector. The results reported showed a general common trend towards a significant increase in the production of hazardous medical waste and packaging plastics, while the increasing or decreasing trend in household waste does not appear uniform. Industrial waste and those associated with public areas and events are decreasing. The recovery and recycling sector suffered a sharp slowdown. In the face of various gaps and criticalities highlighted by the analyzed authors, various possible solutions to improve waste management during emergency situations such as that of COVID-19 have been identified and reported in this review work.