The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of plastics in our daily lives. Because of their inherent properties, plastics in the form of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other single-use medical equipment, as well as packaging solutions, have emerged as a life-saver for protecting the health and safety of frontline health workers and ordinary citizens during the pandemic. However, because of their indiscriminate littering and mismanagement in the midst of this unprecedented crisis, personal protective equipment’s have been labeled as evil polluters. This article review and evaluates whether personal protective equipment’s are a public health protector or a polluter of the environment during a pandemic. Taking into account the benefits and limitations of PPEs, as well as its management or mismanagement, and it can be a protector if properly managed and supplemented by circular economy strategies such as reduction, recycling, and recovery, preventing leakage into the environment. Several decontamination techniques have been implemented globally to ensure the effective reprocessing of PPEs in order to prioritize the circular economy within the system. Policy guidelines encouraging the adoption of safer practices and sustainable technical solutions, as well as consumer education for awareness creation, are critical for preventing plastic from transforming from a protector with high utility to a polluter.
Key words: Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, Personal Protective Equipment, Pandemic, Waste, Environment
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