New rules regarding the waste management where there are people that have the new coronavirus

LIPOR announced several rules regarding household waste handling and disposal, in the framework of the pandemic by SARS-CoV-2 (CoVid-19) and in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Portuguese Agency for the Environment (APA) and the Regulatory Authority for Water and Waste (ERSAR) on waste management.

The new rules regard households, hotels or any other places where there are confirmed patients of CoVid-19 or people with the potential to become infected by the new coronavirus.

The goal is to "ensure public health protection, the worker's protection and to prevent the dissemination of the disease, squaring them with the need for a more efficient and effective waste management".

In households and accommodations

In the case of households and local lodgings, "all waste produced by the patient or by those providing assistance, must be placed in durable and disposable garbage bags that are filled up to two thirds of their capacity". That is, not completely full, those bags should be warped and put inside a second bag, "which should also be closed and put in the waste container and never on the floor".

"In case there are no people with the coronavirus or under surveillance, you should keep the usual procedures and dispose the garbage in the usual places", as stated by LIPOR, except the disposal of gloves, masks and tissues that should ALWAYS be put in the waste bin".

Companies, hotels and other places

Waste from companies, hotels and other lodgings with a high concentration of people, as well as ports and airports, and whenever there are people with Covid-19 and people assisting them, that waste is the same as biohazard waste (group III), and its maintenance should be assured as such.

That is, the waste should be put in a first durable bag, put in a second durable bag, tightened and put in a container with non-manual opening and with a lid on. Once the bag is full up to two thirds of its capacity.

In such cases, "waste must be kept separate and be sent to a licensed operator for the collection of hospital biohazard waste, under the responsibility of the management entities of companies, lodgings, ports or airports".

Operators

The set of rules issued by APA and ERSAR also determines that all such waste is to be sent to incineration immediately, to prevent any bags from breaking, especially in large urban areas of Lisbon and Porto, to the corresponding Valorsul and LIPOR respectively or to the garbage dump, in the case that there is no possibility to incinerate the waste or when the geographic location thus justifies".