Minimising the present and future plastic waste, energy and environmental footprints related to COVID-19
Minimising the present and future plastic waste, energy and environmental footprints related to COVID-19
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DOI：
10.1016/j.rser.2020.109883
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发表时间：
2020-07-01
影响因子：
15.9
通讯作者：
Jiang, Peng
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Klemes, Jiri Jaromir;Van Fan, Yee;Jiang, Peng
COVID-19大流行对塑料使用和后续废物造成的环境影响日益严重，但更为紧迫的健康问题远远掩盖了潜在影响。本文对COVID-19造成的破坏如何成为全球塑料废物管理实践短期和长期变化的催化剂进行了前瞻性展望。本集团评估疫情及流行病对各种塑胶产品（尤其是用于个人防护及医疗保健的塑胶产品）整个生命周期的影响。由于全球COVID-19病例激增，这些产品系统的能源和环境足迹迅速增加，而由于需要确保销毁家庭和医疗废物中的残留病原体，因此出现了关键的危险废物管理问题。塑料废弃物足迹（PWF）的概念是为了捕捉塑料产品在其整个生命周期中的环境足迹。从新研究和环境政策的角度讨论了疫情期间和之后废物管理方面新出现的挑战。废物组成和数量的突然变化突出表明需要一个动态响应的废物管理系统。建议未来六个研究方向，以减轻疫情对废物管理系统的潜在影响。
The COVID-19 pandemic has had growing environmental consequences related to plastic use and follow-up waste, but more urgent health issues have far overshadowed the potential impacts. This paper gives a prospective outlook on how the disruption caused by COVID-19 can act as a catalyst for short-term and long-term changes in plastic waste management practices throughout the world. The impact of the pandemic and epidemic following through the life cycles of various plastic products, particularly those needed for personal protection and healthcare, is assessed. The energy and environmental footprints of these product systems have increased rapidly in response to the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide, while critical hazardous waste management issues are emerging due to the need to ensure destruction of residual pathogens in household and medical waste. The concept of Plastic Waste Footprint (PWF) is proposed to capture the environmental footprint of a plastic product throughout its entire life cycle. Emerging challenges in waste management during and after the pandemic are discussed from the perspective of novel research and environmental policies. The sudden shift in waste composition and quantity highlights the need for a dynamically reponsive waste management system. Six future research directions are suggested to mitigate the potential impacts of the pandemic on waste management systems.