Abstract
In the developing world, healthcare waste management is a human health and environmental burden that should be solved for improving sustainability. Solutions should be introduced in the short term, concerning management, planning, financial assistance and expertise. The paper introduces an indicator set for assessing healthcare waste management in developing cities, implemented in La Paz (Bolivia) as a case study. The objective is to suggest an integrated management tool as a first assessment technique to identify the prevailing problems with a healthcare waste management system. Results suggest that, in La Paz, the application of such indicators is useful for evaluating which priorities should be addressed for improving the healthcare waste management system. The tool was applied for introducing a study necessary for the application of new management plans, especially concerning healthcare waste treatment. The method can be replicated in other contexts worldwide, with a focus on the developing world, for comparing cities, management solutions and improvements carried out along the years. The approach is of interest for boosting sustainability and human health, improving the awareness of the actors and policy-makers involved in waste management.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4-18 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Waste Management and Research |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jan 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7850-5461 Ferronato Navarro 1 Ragazzi Marco 2 Torrez Elias Marisol Secundina 4 Gorritty Portillo Marcelo Antonio 3 Guisbert Lizarazu Edith Gabriela 4 Torretta Vincenzo 1 1 Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Italy 2 Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Italy 3 IIDEPROQ, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), Bolivia 4 Department of Environmental Engineering, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), Bolivia Navarro Ferronato, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via G.B. Vico 46, I-21100, Varese, 22100, Italy. Email: nferronato@uninsubria.it 10 2019 0734242X19883690 31 10 2018 23 9 2019 © The Author(s) 2019 2019 International Solid Waste Association In the developing world, healthcare waste management is a human health and environmental burden that should be solved for improving sustainability. Solutions should be introduced in the short term, concerning management, planning, financial assistance and expertise. The paper introduces an indicator set for assessing healthcare waste management in developing cities, implemented in La Paz (Bolivia) as a case study. The objective is to suggest an integrated management tool as a first assessment technique to identify the prevailing problems with a healthcare waste management system. Results suggest that, in La Paz, the application of such indicators is useful for evaluating which priorities should be addressed for improving the healthcare waste management system. The tool was applied for introducing a study necessary for the application of new management plans, especially concerning healthcare waste treatment. The method can be replicated in other contexts worldwide, with a focus on the developing world, for comparing cities, management solutions and improvements carried out along the years. The approach is of interest for boosting sustainability and human health, improving the awareness of the actors and policy-makers involved in waste management. Developing countries circular economy sustainable development waste management indicators management tools The Rotary International Global Grant GG1758711 Scholarship edited-state corrected-proof Declaration of conflicting interests The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is supported by a Global Grant of the Rotary Foundation: Global Grant GG1758711 Scholarship provided by the Clubs Rotary Bassano del Grappa Castelli and Rotary Sopocachi La Paz. ORCID iD Navarro Ferronato https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7850-5461
Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is supported by a Global Grant of the Rotary Foundation: Global Grant GG1758711 Scholarship provided by the Clubs Rotary Bassano del Grappa Castelli and Rotary Sopocachi La Paz.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
Keywords
- Developing countries
- circular economy
- management tools
- sustainable development
- waste management indicators