Legal aspects of environmental safety in the field of medical waste management in the context of the pandemic

Medical waste management has always been relevant from a practical point of view, but as a result of the pandemic declared in 2020, this topic has multiplied, leading to significant changes in the legal regulation of medical waste. The realization that re-contamination from medical covid-waste is possible led to the obligation to install disinfectants in medical and pharmacological organizations. The division of medical waste into classes predetermined the assignment of medical covid-waste to class “B”, and after disinfection - to “A”-class, that are possible to transport and dispose after disinfection. However, there is a huge amount of covid-waste outside medical and pharmacological organizations, which is, clearly, are not medical. When mixed with solid household waste and garbage that does not require a transport licence, it increases the likelihood of re-infection of those who handle such waste. The object of the work is to explore these topics and to raise the issue of separation of the accumulation and disposal of non-medical covid-waste in legal regulation, as well as the ways to implement them. Related to this is the issue of environmental pollution in the context of the pandemic, because non-medical covid-waste has increased the amount of plastic that pollutes the environment.