Abstract
The waste incineration plant owned and operated by Kobe Environmental Creation Co., Ltd. (KEC) has an incineration capacity of 80ton/day and burns mainly clinical and plastic wastes. Infectious wastes are delivered to the facility where they are carefully sealed, and then stored in sealed plastic containers. The waste is then sent to the incineration furnace in this fully protected state. Because waste disposal companies are considered part of medical infrastructure, KEC has not had to reduce its workforce nor its workload during the current COVID-19 crisis. Many meetings for new projects, however, did have to be suspended due to the prohibition of business visits. The amount of infectious wastes being brought into the facility has remained almost the same as usual even during the COVID-19 emergency. If properly sealed and enclosed, these wastes have a sufficiently low risk of infection during waste disposal but it is important to note there are cases where this enclosing is not without inaccuracies (i.e. blood leaks, protruding needles, overpackaging). What we wish to highlight here is that those who are generating and unloading waste should keep in mind that there are actually humans managing the waste at the other end, struggling to stay safe.
