COVID-19 MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

Abstract

The ongoing issue of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia has led to an increase in the amount of medical waste produced. The medical waste does not only come from the activities of health facilities, but also from the public, such as the use of disposable masks. Without proper medical waste treatment, this can lead to new problems such as the accumulation of medical waste in Indonesia and new sources of transmission for COVID-19. In addition, the accumulation of medical waste can also have a negative impact on the environment. Policies and the role of the community are needed in overcoming the problem of medical waste in Indonesia. This paper aims to discuss the increase in medical waste due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its handling in Indonesia. Data was collected from literatures related to pandemic COVID-19 medical waste. Data was then analysed using content analysis. The paper discuss about the amount of medical waste produced and the estimation of the increase in medical waste during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from this study show that there is a significant increase in medical waste in Indonesia during COVID-19 pandemic. Indonesia is estimated to produce 420.03 tons of medical waste per day from the previous 294.66 tons/day in 2018 from health facilities throughout Indonesia. It is necessary to manage medical waste from various sectors from the government to the community. Lessons learned from other countries also discussed such as waste management policies from countries that have successfully managed waste, such as China, which has succeeded in developing a comprehensive disposal mode that combines the disposal of medical waste and local emergency disposal of medical waste. Community participation also one part of COVID-19 waste management including the use of cloth masks.