International Consultant Committee of Waste to Energy

Clinical waste management under COVID-19 scenario in Malaysia

P Agamuthu1 and Jayanthi Barasarathi2

Abstract

Malaysia recorded 8904 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and 124 deaths as of 27 July 2020. Globally, everyday there are

thousands of new cases of COVID-19 being recorded. Due to the high number of infections globally and nationwide the increase in the

amount of clinical waste (CW) generation was expected. Malaysia has reported a 27% (by weight) increase in the generation of CW

which was mostly attributed to COVID-19 related waste. This article presents the impacts of COVID-19 in waste generation, policy

and regulation of CW management (CWM) in Malaysia and a case study on the CWM at a selected hospital used as a COVID-19

focal point. The current practice of CWM due to COVID-19 related cases follows the existing policy and legislation of CWM detailed

in the Schedule Waste Regulation (2005), Environmental Quality Act, 1974, and with the standard operating procedure provided by

the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. The case study conducted through survey and questionnaire interviews revealed that the CWM in

government hospitals followed existing guidelines for CWM for COVID-19 waste, with some additional precautions and rules by the

waste management contractors.

Keywords

COVID-19, clinical waste management, policy, regulation, Malaysia

Received 9th June 2020, accepted 25th August 2020 by Associate Editor Alberto Bezama.