Coronavirus contaminated waste puts garbage workers on the front line

The coronavirus crisis is turning into a garbage crisis.

Millions of people are stuck at home generating lots of extra trash — some of which is mixed with discarded face masks, gloves or other garbage that could be contaminated with the coronavirus. That’s turning into a growing problem for garbage collection workers, who face increased personal risk when picking up and sorting garbage.

Labor unions are demanding extra protection for workers, while some countries are suspending or reducing trash and recycling services — something that could endanger their ability to hit EU waste reduction and recycling targets.

In Brussels, “the situation is dramatic,” said Patrice De Brandt, permanent secretary of the CSC union representing garbage collectors working at Bruxelles Propreté, the city’s waste-management operator.

Trade unions called on Bruxelles Propreté to increase safety measures for trash collection workers, especially because it is impossible for workers to keep a safe distance from each other while on garbage trucks.

Following multiple meetings this week, a deal was struck to cut waste collectors’ working time, and to make water and soap available in garbage trucks for workers to wash their hands.

The coronavirus outbreak is also posing other challenges for the European waste sector and the estimated 1.1 million workers employed there.

China’s experience shows that there’s likely to be a surge in medical waste such as surgical masks and other protective gear. At the height of the epidemic in Wuhan, the city was producing 240 tons of medical waste a day, and the government had to deploy mobile treatment facilities to manage it.

Not all of that trash is generated by hospitals. Millions of people are wearing face masks and latex gloves when leaving their homes — and a lot of that waste is being dumped into home garbage bins. Then there’s the issue of normal garbage generated by people who are under quarantine or infected but asymptomatic — some of which might be potentially dangerous.

Treating trash

Countries are now trying to clarify how such waste should be treated.

France told people to put used tissues, face masks and gloves into separate plastic bags and to wait 24 hours before putting them out for garbage collection; in the U.K. the waiting time is 72 hours.

In order to ensure all countries have the right rules, the European Commission is drafting guidelines sharing best practices and tips.

The document, seen by POLITICO, advises countries to tell households to store closed garbage bags, in particular with dry materials that can be recycled such as paper and plastics, for a longer period in the house before they throw it in separate waste bins. That’s to protect workers in recycling facilities who sort through the waste manually.

“The duration of the storage of the waste has to take account of the rapidly developing science as regards the stability of the virus on different services,” the document reads, referring to a study led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which found that traces of the virus survive less than 24 hours on cardboard but up to three days on plastic and stainless steel.

The Commission document, which has not yet been sent to national capitals, also says that it might make more sense to store waste at central facilities rather than at homes as it can be kept under more controlled conditions.

But the industry wants more.

“I understand the Commission wants to contribute, but as the situation evolves every day, such a document could rapidly become obsolete,” said Valérie Plainemaison, the secretary-general of FEAD, the private waste industry lobby.

Although she welcomed the Commission’s recognition of the waste sector as an essential service, Plainemaison added that “day-to-day adaptation is needed at local level, under public authorities’ control.”

The EU executive also told countries they may suspend household waste recycling if there’s a shortage of staff or if the trash can’t be deemed coronavirus-free.

“Some countries continue to recycle, but others like France and Italy are no longer in the position where priority is given to recycling,” said Plainemaison.

It’s happening across the Continent. Residents of Lisbon were asked to stop separating trash for recycling, while in Brussels garbage collectors are dumping normal trash bags and those aimed for recycling into the same truck.

Those changes could prevent some EU countries from hitting their mandatory recycling targets. Under the EU Waste Framework Directive, countries are required to ensure that by this year at least 50 percent of their municipal waste is prepared for reuse or recycling — but even before the crisis some countries weren’t on track to reach that goal.

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