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Overall Impact of Medical Waste Globally

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 The recent COVID-19 outbreak has led to the growth of the global medical waste management market - growing from $13.5 billion in 2019 to around 14.9 billion in 2020.

While the market is expected to stabilize in 2023, growing only at a rate of 3.8%, the current unknown biomedical waste medical facilities are generating has triggered a need for better waste management.

Sustainability of Disposable Medical Supplies

While medical supplies are often designed for one-time use only to avoid cross-contamination, the shortage the world is currently experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic has made the need for more sustainable medical products more evident.

As such, one of the expected practices that will become a key trend in medical waste management is recycling. However, they are expected to undergo decontamination and treatment before being recycled.

Infectious Biomedical Waste in Developing Countries

However, in developing countries, low awareness, and inadequate knowledge among health care workers, sanitation health workers, and other healthcare professionals are limiting the growth of proper management of medical waste.
This results in improper waste segregation, increasing the risk of injuries and infections that increase the various medical waste management companies’ load. In fact, the World Health Organization, or WHO, estimates that in developing countries, around 15% to 25% of healthcare waste is composed of hazardous and infectious biomedical waste.

Impacts on the Environment

Aside from injuries and infections, improper segregation and disposal of medical waste can greatly impact the environment. They can contaminate water sources and further spread diseases.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the need for more sustainable practices in medical waste management, especially in developing countries where the low level of information and awareness can lead to further injuries and infections.