Medical masks and disposable gloves have become indispensable  accessories since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. They are used almost everywhere and this entails a new problem: what should medical waste disposal services miami fl do with this waste. There are several questions which should be considered in this regard.

1. What to do with used masks and gloves? How to avoid the spread of infection through used masks and gloves? Are they dangerous for healthy people?

According to scientists from the University of Hong Kong, the COVID-19 virus can live up to a week on medical masks and gloves people wear. If a mask was worn by a person who contracted the coronavirus and then it ended up in a trash bin, other waste as well as people who come into contact with it, may be contaminated. There are special services like medical waste disposal services miami fl which deal with the waste like this. These services have a special licence issued by the local government. If the government doesn’t take care of this kind of medical waste properly, it often happens that masks and gloves end up on the city pavements, lawns and other areas of the city. If personal protective equipment (PPE) is contaminated, it must be treated as class B waste. This means that it must be first decontaminated or disinfected and then incinerated in a medical waste disposal facility.

2. Why is Greenpeace against incinerators in general but not against medical waste incineration?

As a rule, medical waste disposal services miami fl try to recycle medical waste instead of incinerating it. It’s a well-known fact that the process of incineration badly damages the environment and medical waste disposal services miami fl  are trying to avoid this methods if it’s possible. However, since the new stamps of coronavirus have not been thoroughly studied yet, the classical decontamination of infected material and disposal at a landfill may not be safe. Therefore, such method of medical waste disposal as incineration is being practiced as an urgent measure. In the future, when more information about the virus becomes available, medical waste disposal services miami fl  might recycle  personal protective equipment after classical decontamination. Some hospitals in the United States are already doing it – the doctors who are working in the red zone use disposable masks up to 20 times after decontamination.

3. How do different countries cope with this waste?

In China, for example, masks and gloves are treated as  hazardous waste and are collected correspondingly in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Containers for collecting masks from the population can be found in Thailand as well – the governor of Bangkok himself campaigns for the collection of masks. Special bins for the collection and disposal of used medical masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment are installed in many European cities too –  special bins are placed in shopping malls and supermarkets as well as other public places such as airports, stations, hotels, restaurants, etc. Some countries such as the United Arab Emirates have introduced fines for throwing masks on the streets. In the US, special cleaning services like medical waste disposal services miami fl  take care of this waste.

To sum up, in order to avoid the further spread of coronavirus, it’s necessary to approach the process of medical waste and personal protective equipment responsibly.