How a Pandemic
Can Impact Solid Waste Management Lessons from COVID-19. Patrick T. Walker , Contractor, Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc. (SERCAP) T he ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted solid waste management activities in the southeastern part of the United States and throughout most of the country. These impacts, felt in many rural communities that the Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP) routinely assists, were identified through brief industry and local government surveys conducted by various state and federal organizations, in addition to other collected data. The following are examples of the effect that this pandemic has had on solid waste management, based on the results of the surveys and data collected as well as on conversations with several of our local solid waste collection site attendants in southern Carolina. Hopefully, being aware of these COVID-19 related impacts will assist RCAP technical assistance providers (TAPs) and others to better understand and respond to current needs and concerns of solid waste management officials in their communities. As solid waste collection and disposal facilities begin to return to the “new normal,” this will also provide opportunities for technical assistance and training related to health and safety protocols, waste handling, recycling priorities, and reinforcing behavioral changes.
10 2022, ISSUE 3
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