Updated Guidance on Waste Management in the Context of COVID-19

30.03.2020

The new Minister of the Environment, Ján Budaj, appeals for responsible behavior also in the field of handling municipal waste. Envirorezort is in close contact with the chief hygienist, the Public Health Office of the Slovak Republic and, if necessary, will actively search for the best options in order to ensure problem-free waste management.

When dealing with waste, there is no high concentration of people in one place. Operations or activities that serve to manage waste, such as the collection of mixed municipal waste, the collection of sorted components of municipal waste, sorting lines, waste processing, waste incinerators, waste landfills are not currently affected by any restrictions. On the contrary, in the current situation it is necessary that they be operated to the same extent as before.

Restrictions related to the measure issued by the Office of Public Health of the Slovak Republic in case of threat to public health no. OLP/2595/2020 dated March 15, 2020 and no. OLP/2956/2020 dated March 16, 2020, originally related to activities related to waste management only to a limited extent. These measures are aimed at establishments where there is direct contact with customers. In the field of waste management, these are the operations of collection yards and waste redemption centers. According to the Public Health Office of the Slovak Republic, these operations could not be operated until March 29, 2020. Restrictions related to the measure issued by the Office of Public Health of the Slovak Republic in case of threat to public health no. OLP/2595/2020 of March 15, 2020 and no. OLP/2956/2020 of March 16, 2020 were updated by measure no. OLP/2777/2020 of March 29, 2020. In this measure they are explicitly the mentioned collection yards, which are open again from Monday, March 30, 2020. However, the term collection yards is used in this particular case for clarity and includes all operations that are used for waste collection. In addition to collection yards, this also includes redemption centers and waste collection.

All entities that are part of the waste management system and thus form and ensure this system (collection companies, operators of sorting lines, operators of waste landfills, etc.) are obliged to comply with valid legal regulations in the field of waste management. Among other things, ensure the collection and removal of waste (mixed waste, sorted components of municipal waste, etc.), sorting and re-sorting of collected waste, evaluation, recycling, etc. It is indisputable that it is necessary and necessary to observe hygienic procedures and regulations in all activities as regularly emphasized and recommended by the ÚVZ SR.

According to the opinion of the ÚVZ SR, used protective equipment that is created by citizens at home or by employees in normal operations – face masks, respirators, gloves, handkerchiefs are disposed of as normal waste. Therefore, the special procedure does not apply here. This waste is placed only in mixed waste. The following procedure is recommended:

• Used protective equipment must be placed in a plastic bag or bag and tightly closed
• The sack or bag must be thrown into unsorted municipal waste (black container)
• The used protective means do not belong in sorted waste under any circumstances
• Of course, you need to wash your hands and follow all hygiene rules

The latest knowledge published by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 3, 2020 (“Water, sanitation, hygiene and waste management for the COVID-19 virus”) is important for classifying protective equipment as waste under the relevant catalog number, according to which there is no evidence of the transmission of the COVID-19 virus during unprotected human contact when handling healthcare waste. In this context and for this case, the waste generated in the business sphere is essentially the same as municipal waste, and therefore the following classification method is determined: