Day 119 - Plastic Waste during the Pandemic

CDC director Robert Reidfield explains why things are going horribly wrong with a new surge in USA in this interview. Dr Redfield is pretty specific. He thinks that around Memorial Day at the end of May people from the north-east, where the virus was widespread, began to take holidays in the sunbelt. They arrived in states that had so far got off lightly, and so where people were complacent about the risks of covid-19. 

Researching on plastic waste management during the pandemic for my column. 

The problem of burgeoning plastic waste is compounded by the near-paralysis of waste collection and recycling. Due to restrictions of movement, rag pickers have all but vanished from the streets of the developing world. Elsewhere, waste recycling plants are operating at sub-optimal capacities because of staffing problems. Surreptitious and illegal disposal of wastes is also on the rise. The pandemic has resulted in a massive disruption, if not a total breakdown, of the waste management infrastructure.
While the battle against COVID-19 dominates our minds, it would be foolish to turn a blind eye to the problem of the plastic waste. What we are sowing today could return to haunt us once the dust of the pandemic has settles down.  

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