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The pandemic has altered the waste generation dynamics, creating woes among policymakers and workers involved in sanitation ( Mallapur, 2020). While the world has witnessed the positive environmental implications of nationwide lockdowns brought upon by COVID-19 such as cleaner rivers and clearer skies ( Gardiner, 2020), the same is not the case with respect to solid waste management. Upgrading medical norms, massive testing campaigns, recalibration of public policies have been the way so far to counter this public health crisis ( WHO, 2020b). The enormous challenge for health care sector lies in its ability to handle patients in need of urgent care with the existing infrastructure and limited safety equipment. In this unprecedented crisis, the protection of lives and livelihoods has become the core of government decisions and actions at every level. The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) has affected 213 countries with around 4.3 million infections and caused 2,97,241 deaths till the time of writing this article ( WHO, 2020a). While offering innovative solutions to existing waste management challenges, the study also suggests some key recommendations to the policymakers to help handle probable future pandemics if any holistically. The study also stresses the need for building localized resilient supply chains to counter such situations during future pandemics. However, there is a chance of increase in food waste from the broken supply chains such as food items getting stuck on road due to restriction in vehicle movements, lack of workers in the warehouse for handling the food products, etc. It is expected that household food waste generation may reduce due to increased conscious buying of more non-perishable items during lockdown and due to concerns of food shortage. Single-use plastic usage is set to bounce back due to growing concerns of hygiene, particularly from products used for personal protection and healthcare purposes. Further, without active citizen participation and cooperation, commingled virus-laden biomedical waste with the regular solid waste stream pose significant negative health and safety issues to sanitation workers. The study presents specific cases for biomedical waste, plastic waste, and food waste management - all of which have been a major cause of concern during this crisis.
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This study highlights the challenges faced by the solid waste management sector during the pandemic and the underlying opportunities to fill existing loopholes in the system. The unexpected fluctuations in waste composition and quantity also require a dynamic response from policymakers. The crisis brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic has altered global waste generation dynamics and therefore has necessitated special attention.