Issues Regarding the Management of Hazardous Medical Waste During the COVID-19 Crisis in Romania

The SARS-CoV2 epidemic’s course in Romania between 2020 and 2021 has exposed numerous flaws and difficulties with the country’s healthcare system. These have negative effects; thus, it’s critical that flaws are identified and fixed in order to build a defence against contagious diseases. This chapter provides a much-needed analysis of Romania’s hazardous medical waste disposal process and makes an educated guess as to how the COVID-19 pandemic may affect the volume generated. The chapter also highlights the capacities for getting rid of dangerous medical waste. The major goal of this chapter is to determine the amount of hazardous waste produced in Romania, the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the production of medical waste and the examination of safe disposal options utilising the current infrastructure. In order to achieve this, the authors developed data sets on the volumes of medical waste produced over time using the information that was available and examined the operational waste disposal facilities. The forecasts developed in this research took into account that the data were collected in conditions of uncertainty. The severe data deficit and the availability of different data sets, strategies and reports employing computational tools that evolved over time must all be highlighted. As a result, the similarity of the data should be evaluated with caution. Future actions and initiatives to lessen and prevent the harmful effects of the COVID-19 outbreak may be supported by this research.