Refineries for plastic are reported to increase the exposure to toxic chemicals leading to increased health outcomes such as mortality, morbidity and disability-adjusted life-years. The lifecycle of plastics from cradle (extraction) to grave (disposal) is dangerous and have an environmental cost. The lockdown period due to social distancing measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 is reported to have increased the use of plastics, a situation that has policy implications (Klemeš et al. However, the question remains how these tonnes of waste can properly be disposed of with the limited technological innovation and recycling equipment in Africa.

In just 15 countries in Africa alone, the total face masks per day are reported as 586,833,053 based on 80% acceptance rate and an average of 2 face masks daily per capita (Nzediegwu and Chang 2020). This panic buying increased the disposal of perishable products and leftovers, which ultimately generated tonnes of waste. During this period, shopping of basic protective equipment, products and groceries grew by over 20% in one Supermarket alone (Reconomy 2020). The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the institution of distancing measures that triggered panic buying of food, toilet papers, face masks, gloves, cleaning products and 70% alcohol-based hand sanitizers (Sarkodie and Owusu 2020a). Besides, there could be serious consequences for developing countries without standard waste management technologies and waste emergency policies to curb the pandemic. Thus, there exists a challenge of managing unusual waste sustainably using available waste facilities while reducing air pollution, preventing secondary viral transmission and mitigating potential health risk (UNEP 2020a). The potential rampant dumping, open burning and incineration could affect air quality and health outcomes due to the exposure to toxins (WHO 2020). Failure to properly manage the waste generated from health facilities and households may escalate the spread of COVID-19 via secondary transmission. Due to the stockpiling of gloves, gowns, masks and other protective clothing and equipment, there appears to be a waste emergency due to the unusual production of waste from both households and health facilities (Ma et al. Though the COVID-19 pandemic is reported to have reduced air pollution and environmental-related noise and improved biodiversity and tourist sites, however, the impact of stay-at-home and preventive measures on waste management is alarming (Box (Box1).

Despite income group (low, middle and higher income), the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed several lapses and limitation of the current socio-economic, health and environment-related sectors across countries (Owusu and Asumadu 2020). However, several countries have thus far instituted policies to ensure sustainable management of waste while protecting the safety of waste handlers.Ĭurrently, there are over 20.1 million global confirmed cases and ~ 742 thousand deaths across the globe. The intensification of single-use products and panic buying have increased production and consumption, hence thwarting efforts towards reducing plastic pollution. We found that the quantity of waste increased across countries observing the social distancing measure of staying at home. In this study, we assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on waste management by observing lockdown and social distancing measures. The invaluable service provided by the waste management sector ensures that the unusual heaps of waste that poses health risks and escalate the spread of COVID-19 is avoided.

Waste management is critical to human development and health outcomes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The containment of the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and limitations on commercial activities, mobility and manufacturing sector have significantly affected waste management.

Pathological waste includes