Medical Waste Management in Covid-19 Pandemic Process in Sinop: A case study

In the management of medical wastes, developing a system suitable for every condition is of importance in terms of the sustainability of the management. Especially, during the Covid-19 pandemic, which started in early 2020 and affected both Turkey and the whole world, planned and systematic waste management has become of great importance with the increase in the volume of medical supplies used, hence the volume of medical wastes. For such a management system, a planned and good data infrastructure and a regular follow-up mechanism established in the previous years are important. The present study evaluated and compared the total volume of waste collected by health institutions belonging to the Sinop province and its districts in 2019 and 2020. For 2019, 9 health institutions were examined including those in the central Sinop and its districts while for 2020, 10 health institutions were examined in the same area. The highest volume of medical waste collected in 2019 was in April and May, while the highest volume of medical waste collected in 2020 was in November and December. The volume of medical wastes in the province center in 2019 increased from 1.59 kg/bed.day to 3.97 kg/bed.day in 2020. The present study also evaluated the increase in medical waste data before and during the Covid-19 pandemic period and the functioning of the medical waste management mechanism. The study also included information on medical waste management strategies and current problems and presented suggestions.