Management of Hazardous (Medical) Waste in Georgia under the COVID-19 Conditions

Author: Natela Dvalishvili
Keywords: Medical, Waste, Management, Disposal
Annotation:

The harmonization of the waste management policy of Georgia with the European waste management standards is one of the priorities of the national environmental safety. The most important issue is the hazardous waste management, which is at an early stage of development. Notwithstanding the efforts directed on improvement of the legal base, the quantitative monitoring of hazardous waste in the country has a sporadic character, the whole range of generated and accumulated hazardous waste is not being recorded and monitored. There is no database containing information on their quantities and composition, statistical data and information on their annual dynamic are missing as well. A system of registration/collection of the whole range of hazardous waste and hazardous waste treatment facilities are missing in Georgia. The aim of the study was to study the issues of medical waste disposal in Georgia and evaluate their management in the conditions of Covid-19. The study showed that the part of the medical waste generated in Georgia is disposed of in fourteen waste incineration plants in the country, and other part, unfortunately, is uncontrollably dumped in the environment.