Committee: United Nations Environment Programme

Agenda: Waste Management during COVID-19 Pandemic

Name: Mohammed Vazir Imam Khadri
Delegate of Bahrain
Agenda: Waste Management during COVID-19 Pandemic

The deadly COVID-19 already had tremendous impacts on the waste sector. If this is not
managed properly it will cause a huge impact on the environment and health. In the whole
world, 40% of the medical waste volume has been increased due to COVID crisis. 1
In a recent UNEP Waste Management Outlook, it has been stated that at present the level
of waste management is just 11%, accounting for about two-thirds of treated waste with a
total waste treatment capacity deficit of over 64 m tonnes – including uncollected solid
municipal waste.2 The Bombay High Court stated that the workers should not take much
time to dispose of COVID waste.3 It is therefore essential to take decisive action to regulate
waste in this COVID crisis.
Every year, Bahrain produces more than 1.2 million tonnes of solid waste. It has been
increased because of medical and plastic waste due to COVID. Bahrain has kept separate
bins for putting the medical waste in COVID hospitals. The waste that is separately collected
is disinfected by several methods and processed into harmless waste and recycled into a
new product. It is possible to recycle plastic waste into new goods, which is a perfect
example of a circular economy.4 The Bahrain-based Askar Waste to Energy Project recycles
the items into electricity that will be fed to the national grid. 5
Organizations like UNEP, WHO are struggling to make awareness in the people regarding the
problem. Many legislations and policies like Basel 6 and Stockholm7 Conventions are being
implemented to overcome this problem. Many methods are being taught to dispose of the
waste in accordance with the sustainable Development Goals. UN is collaborating with many
other organizations for making strategies in COVID waste management.

Possible Solutions

1
Covid-19`s Impact on Waste Sector, International Finance Corporation (Sep. 17, 2020, 10:04 AM),
https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/dfbceda0-847d-4c16-9772-15c6afdc8d85/202006-COVID-19-impact-
on-waste-sector.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=na-eKpI.
2
Global Waste Management Outlook, United Nations Environment Programme (Sep. 16, 2020, 3:00PM),
https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/global-waste-management-outlook.
3
Kishor Ramesh Sohoni V. State of Maharastra.
4
6 Ways that Gulf Cities can turn waste into Wealth, World Economic Forum (Sep. 15, 2020, 2:12 AM),
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/6-ways-that-gulf-cities-can-turn-waste-into-wealth.
5
Solid Waste Management in Bahrain, Ecomena, (Sep. 16, 2020, 3:05 AM), https://www.ecomena.org/solid-
wastebahrain/#:~:text=The%20Kingdom%20of%20Bahrain%20is%20grappling%20with%20waste.
6
Basel Convention, Basel, (Sep. 17, 2020, 1:00 AM), http://www.basel.int/
7
Stockholm Convention, Stockholm, (Sep. 17, 2020, 2:40 AM), http://chm.pops.int/
 Analyse the ground realities of the issue rather than making regulations and
guidelines by observing the statistics.
 Addressing the root causes of waste by the establishment of strategies and tools to
maintain waste management programmes.
 Encourages organizations and governments to collaboratively work together in
building effective waste management systems by devoting their time in the planning
process.
 Urges governments to keep the COVID related waste separately and dispose it
separately.
 Appeals to member states to offer machines to disinfect covid waste like sterilizers
etc.
 Recommends governments to recycle waste and convert it into other products as a
circular economy rather than disposing.
 Further recommends governments to adopt and strengthen legislations and sound
policies per SDG 11.
 Calls upon governments to assess the impacts on health due to covid waste by
formulating policies, making it mandatory for citizens to follow the rules and
regulations given by the government get regular medical-check-ups at their local
hospital.