Researchers selected Tehran, Iran to study how medical waste pollution changed during the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, 
- Tehran lacked programs to effectively sort and dispose of medical waste 
- ~37.9% of the waste produced by 165 hospitals in Tehran was infectious. WHO guidelines dictate less than 15% of hospital wastes should be infectious 

Kenyon College

Medical waste is a special type of biohazardous waste and is thus far more dangerous than other types of waste. Each type of medical waste has the potential to pollute the environment and pose a risk to human health. 
- Infectious medical waste may contain pathogens 
- Hazardous medical waste does not spread disease but may cause injury in other ways; for example, used needles
- Radioactive medical waste may be generated from cancer treatments and posses the risk of spreading radioactive materials 
- Chemical medical waste may involve chemicals used in preparing treatments or disinfectants

Medical Waste Pollution (Pre-COVID-19)

Daryabeigi Zand, A., &  Vaezi Heir, A. (2020). Emerging Challenges in Urban Waste Management in Tehran, Iran during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105051 



Emerging Challenges in Urban Waste Management in Tehran, Iran during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Researchers selected Wuhan, China to study how medical waste was handled before and during the pandemic. 
- Prior to the pandemic, Wuhan generated ~41 tons of medical waste per day and had the capacity to dispose of 50 tons of medical waste per day 
- Waste was incinerated at a plant that lacked storage for excess medical waste 

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