Healthcare Waste Management and Post-Pandemic Countermeasures: The Case of the Philippines

Abstract

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has created various challenges such as the sudden increase of healthcare waste and the call for urgent actions to properly manage it to avoid environment and health hazards. As one of the countries with high number of COVID-19 transmissions, the Philippines has continued to take actions to address this healthcare waste related concern in collaboration with state and non-state actors. Proper healthcare waste management is crucial to effectively control or limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus to protect the healthcare workers and the general public. This chapter provides the status of healthcare waste management and the post-pandemic measures in the country with the following main sections: discussion of the definition and categories of health care waste; the policies and regulations related to healthcare waste; the health care waste management systems including the generation, collection, storage, treatment, and disposal of healthcare waste; and the post-pandemic counter measures and innovations with selected case studies highlighting the effective approaches in managing healthcare waste in the country. This chapter also concludes that policies and regulations on health care waste are in place; however, it needs to strengthen its implementation through information, education, and communication campaigns and promotion of local collaboration in managing health care waste.KeywordsHealthcare waste managementPhilippinesCOVID-19 pandemicLocal collaboration