Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering (Dec 2023)
Investigating the quantitative and qualitative changes of municipal waste and management strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review
Abstract
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic affected various aspects of human life. Municipal waste management systems were affected by Covid-19 like other sectors. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare urban waste management before and after the Covid-19 pandemic in the form of a systematic review. For this purpose, the keywords were compiled based on the MeSH system and the components of the PICO formula. Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Pubmed, and SID internal databases were searched in both English and Persian languages. The results showed that the Covid-19 pandemic had negative and sometimes positive effects on urban waste production. Also, despite the limitations of the pyrolysis method, this method is an effective technique for waste destruction in the time of Covid-19. Because it can be a suitable disposal method for plastic waste. Finally, to increase recycling, it is suggested that reusable masks and masks with the ability to change the filter are the most appropriate type, and it is recommended that their use be given priority during the time of Covid-19 and similar conditions.
