Índice de escalonamento para protocolos institucionais da gestão de resíduos recicláveis na prevenção da COVID-19

Abstract

In December 2019, the world was surprised by a new disease that had its epicenter in the Chinese city of Wuhan and quickly spread to several Asian countries. The World Health Organization declared the new disease a pandemic in March 2020, calling it novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, or Covid-19. Currently, it has reached more than 200 countries on all continents, causing a strong negative impact on the environment, due to the generation of high-risk contaminating biological waste from hospitals, institutions and homes with a high potential for transmission between humans. Given the possibility of transmission of the new pathogen, this scientific research aims to establish an index based on indicators of efficiency, effectiveness, legality and health and environmental safety for the escalation of institutional protocols in the prevention of Covid-19 and other pathogens. Bibliographic and documentary research was carried out, analyzing protocols and bibliometric and scientometric studies were developed. With this, indicators were scored and a logic of sanitary and environmental quality was developed, a method tested in 12 protocols of the government of the state of Pernambuco. The work was structured in three chapters. In chapter I, the progress of scientific research focused on the thematic axis, Covid-19, solid waste and the environment was evaluated through a bibliometric and scientometric study. It was found that from 2021, there was an increase in scientific work related to the pandemic, but the management of solid waste has received little attention from academic studies. In chapter II, the research showed how the pandemic affected all continents in the environmental area, especially in relation to the management of solid waste, in addition to the impacts caused in the social and economic areas, concluding that the SARSCoV-2 has crossed the borders, changing the world routine. Chapter III presents a methodological proposal for analyzing the health and environmental safety of protocols in the context of Covid-19, tested in documents developed by the state of Pernambuco. It was found that the administrative and management initiatives of these presented gaps in the management of recyclable waste, creating the possibility of transmission of Covid-19 through the technological route, being classified with the low index. Initiatives relevant to the integrated management and technological routes of solid waste must encompass all stages and aspects of these processes. Especially in times of a pandemic, such a precept must observe the implementation of health protocols aimed at controlling the transmission of Covid-19. The environmentally appropriate disposal of waste must comply with the National Solid Waste Policy, as this is a shared responsibility and, if carried out incorrectly, can result in negative impacts on the environment and public health, mainly. Further studies on the subject are recommended.