"COVID-19 Webinar #2: Post COVID-19 Waste Management From Policy, Society and Technology Perspectives"

Description:
Proper practice of waste management is the key to the protection of the environment and the health of the population. Due to its impact towards the environment and society’s economy, the implementation of waste management should be a top priority for all of the stakeholders involved, ranging from government bodies to the scientific research communities. However, such ideal efforts of sustainable development often differs when compared to facts from the field. According to the World Bank (2018), the world generates 2.01 billion tons of solid waste annually, with at least 33 percent of that not managed in an environmentally safe manner.

Furthermore, the importance of proper waste management – which is very closely tied to the protection of public health - has recently been at the center of attention due to the sudden spreads of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an abrupt collapse of waste management chains, which has also led to disruption in municipal waste services and mismanagement. The widespread lockdown has also induced a significant increase in domestic waste, which was caused by manpower shortages and the redirection of resources to enforce infection control measures.

Recognising the urgency of these matters, Resilience Development Initiative (RDI),as a think tank, obligated to join research efforts to combat the COVID-19 predicament. To contribute to the policy development as well as to respond to this global pandemic, RDI will hold a webinar on the issues of waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic. The topics that will be discussed on the webinar will revolve around the topics of a policy gap in waste management, lifestyle changes with its relation to the waste production in the face COVID-19 pandemic, and also several state-of-the-art technologies that can be used for waste treatment during COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives:

• Informing the public regarding the pressing issues of waste management in the COVID-19 pandemic and the solution towards its mitigation.
• Informing the community of policymakers towards what are several possible solutions to tackle the issues of waste management in during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Compiling and concluding the most pressing and urgent issues regarding waste management during and after the COVID-19 pandemic that need to be addressed.

Outcome:

• Through collaborative learning, RDI hopes the public can foster an understanding of waste management during COVID-19 pandemic with the ability to solve problems and make consequential decisions.
• Attain a sustainable mechanism through reducing the adverse impact of waste disposal during and post COVID-19 pandemic.

Time and Platform:
Wednesday, 2nd September 2020 at 13.00 - 15.00 PM (GMT+7) / 14.00 -16.00 (GMT+8)
Zoom Meeting Room &  RDI Youtube Live

Timeline: