Abstract
One year ago, we wrote our editorial for the Open Access issue of WM&R, as witnesses of the start of a pandemic that was already giving some hints on its terrible dimensions. We have since experienced and witnessed unprecedented situations, decisions, and processes that were once unimaginable in our global society. In this editorial, we would like to reflect on the last year, and for this we have selected the title from a classic Western movie, except that we have reversed the order to tell a story with a positive message.
“The Ugly”: We have observed yet again the enormous differences between the big north and the big south in terms of infrastructure and the availability of resources to deal with technical and social challenges, this time a pandemic. There is nothing new under the sun, but it makes us wonder how we can bridge this gap. As a society, we have discussed so many ways to address this issue, unfortunately without much luck. The gap is still there, and sometimes it even seems to grow. Let us hope that we can come up with a sustainable solution, as a globalized society, to this troublesome imbalance.
But apart from these known differences, the ugliest situations came from governmental leaders and public influencers who did not take the situation as seriously, or as soon, as they should have. More worrisome than ever, we were all witnesses of so-called leaders who even saw an opportunity for their own gain and took chances for their own sakes, while misinforming and blocking true information exchange, seeding chaos and mistrust in society, and finally slowing down what should have been a common effort to minimize if not stop the pandemic’s spread. Worst of all, the absence of enlightened leadership led to the emergence of groups that put large populations at risk. Too many strived to influence governments by spreading misinformation to discount science-based guidance for their own benefits instead of supporting measures to safeguard society as a whole. Yes, in democratic times, we do expect to have differences of opinion, and that is definitively ok. Actually, the very definition of a democracy allows for (if not also welcomes) a wide range of opinions and there is no “law” to say that all opinions must be fact-based. But when the differences are exacerbated by the propagation of fake news and pressures on the population, this cannot be accepted. If we are to have a fair public decision processes, people need to be well informed.
“The Bad”: Slow responses and actions due to political concerns. As the decisions expanded to close businesses and otherwise lockdown society, more unpopular, political leaders tended to make politically correct decisions rather than scientifically based ones. Such inactions created perfect opportunities for the virus to spread at rates that only epidemiologists and others versed in the 1918 Spanish flu could imagine, putting the whole society in danger, especially those who are more susceptible to develop complications in the short and medium terms. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to note that, in due course, most political bodies did turn to science as the foundation for a strategy to combat the spread of COVID-19, and in time they started to make even unpopular decisions based on scientific facts and statistics-based forecasts, which helped to cope with the alarming spreading numbers of the disease. We hope that this experience will set a new basis for exchange between science and political bodies. We truly see that future political developments should go hand in hand with scientific facts.
Finally, “the Good”: The response of most of the world’s population. It has been amazing to see the response of society under such levels of stress. Families dealing with home office, home schooling, even home vacations, all at once. Dealing also with issues such as curfews and lockdowns. Having children with changing school tutoring times, breaking their normal daily structures, and not being able to grow and interact in person as the social animals that we are. At work and school, coping with video conference calls, and with an increasing number of meetings (which was a surprising effect of the home office regulations). And despite the odds, once again we have shown ourselves how resilient and flexible we can be as a society, as a human species, when the straits are dire. We have shown also that we can learn from past experiences, and shown another dimension to the learning process. As a society, we have reacted with the willingness to cope with changing times, and we should be proud. Proud and hopeful, as it seems that times are changing, and that we can see the light after the long, dark tunnel. We will need to take some more time, though, to deal with the fact that many survivors are still suffering from their disease even after the worst of it has passed. And we will need to evaluate the longer-term future impacts of having contracted the illness, which are still unknown.
Finally, another aspect to highlight has been the interconnectivity of the research worldwide. The velocity in which the new vaccines were developed and validated, and the amounts of data exchanged by researchers and laboratories (and in general by health-related institutions) worldwide, and the rates in which the information was shared, was unprecedented. We are definitively in times of digitalization, and the world has seen how the set informatics infrastructures are supporting the scientific community. And we have watched in awe how open access information has been a key issue to this fast development process.
Of course, the waste management sector has also been affected by the pandemic. One of the glaring issues was the generation of an increased quantity of healthcare wastes throughout the world. Invariably, the amount of this type of waste almost doubled in most nations, due to the use of disposable gloves, face masks, and personal protective equipment (PPE). The problem was aggravated by the littering of gloves and masks as well as their leakage in the environment, which happened (and it is still happening) also in countries with advanced waste management, as masks and gloves are very prone to be leaked because of their lightness. Developed nations with thermal treatment facilities were able to cope with this increased waste quantity effectively to a certain extent, but the situation was not the same in developing countries, which lacked proper collection and/or treatment technology.
Our goal at Waste Management & Research is to provide a platform of information for the latest developments of the pandemic situation in the waste management sector. For this, we decided to use this year’s Open Access issue to address this important subject. We have collected eight articles that deal with COVID-related issues, reporting experiences from all over the world, and we hope that this information helps advance improvements in healthcare waste management throughout the world.
Stay safe, stay positive. The end of this troublesome year is coming.
