Environmental impact of COVID-19 Vaccine waste: A perspective on potential role of natural and biodegradable materials.

Autor: Hasija V; School of Advanced Chemical Sciences, Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229, India., Patial S; School of Advanced Chemical Sciences, Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229, India., Kumar A; School of Advanced Chemical Sciences, Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229, India., Singh P; School of Advanced Chemical Sciences, Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229, India., Ahamad T; Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia., Khan AAP; Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.; Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia., Raizada P; School of Advanced Chemical Sciences, Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229, India., Hussain CM; Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J 07102, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of environmental chemical engineering [J Environ Chem Eng] 2022 Aug; Vol. 10 (4), pp. 107894. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 May 11.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2022.107894
Abstrakt: The mass immunization is the prioritised post-pandemic phase offering preventive countermeasure for COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is crucial to tackle the environmental impact of COVID-19 vaccine waste for sustainable vaccination management because a prolonged immunisation campaign is expected. As the pace of vaccine production, distribution and mass vaccination has been expedited, there is a simultaneous rise in plastic derived vaccine waste including syringes, needles, used/unused vaccine vials, vaccine packaging, and protective gear (surgical facemasks, gloves, face shields, etc). Henceforth, in view of the repercussions of heaping plastic waste in the environment, this article provides a perspective on the usage of synthetic and natural materials as potential substituents for vaccination tools. The biodegradable polymeric gums such as cellulose, gellan, pectin, etc. have been successfully applied for the fabrication of surgical facemasks. The highly suggestive practice is replacement of conventional polypropylene based plastics with bioplastics or paper for vaccine packaging. The usage of biodegradable bio-plastics as packaging material along with environmentally friendly face masks can help to achieve the zero waste approach. The discussion in the article significantly highlights the necessity of opting sustainable solutions of disinfecting and substituting vaccination tools for an environment friendly ongoing vaccination campaign.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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