Waste management during the COVID-19 outbreak: Investigating a critical sector in crisis
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Exeter
Department Name: Geography
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak is transforming everyday household waste into a biohazard. Coronaviruses are transmitted person-to-person, however COVID-19 also persists on surfaces for several days (van Doremalen et al. 2020). Consequently, this pandemic is severely impacting the waste management sector; causing disposal and recycling service disruptions, and putting waste workers at risk. Before the emergence of COVID-19 this heavily marketised and deregulated sector - comprising over 3,000 companies - was already associated with elevated rates of death and injury compared to other sectors in the UK (HSE 2019). This project asks to what extent the UK waste management sector is equipped to meet the unprecedented challenges generated by this pandemic.
The interdisciplinary project works in partnership with national industry associations and local authorities to investigate how this critical sector is responding to, and affected by, COVID-19 - particularly in terms of the safety of its workers. It aims to mitigate hazards related to waste management during the outbreak through three interrelated approaches: 1) the project generates urgent data on the sector's rapidly changing waste management practices. It employs social research methods to examine pivotal processes, including collections, disposal, and administration; 2) the project collaborates with key workers to map the sector and design a pandemic toolkit that can amplify workers' voices in decision-making; and 3) in collaboration with the Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum, this project creates guidelines and an industry report to enable greater co-ordination between authorities. This research addresses both the immediate crisis and contributes to future preparedness plans.
The interdisciplinary project works in partnership with national industry associations and local authorities to investigate how this critical sector is responding to, and affected by, COVID-19 - particularly in terms of the safety of its workers. It aims to mitigate hazards related to waste management during the outbreak through three interrelated approaches: 1) the project generates urgent data on the sector's rapidly changing waste management practices. It employs social research methods to examine pivotal processes, including collections, disposal, and administration; 2) the project collaborates with key workers to map the sector and design a pandemic toolkit that can amplify workers' voices in decision-making; and 3) in collaboration with the Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum, this project creates guidelines and an industry report to enable greater co-ordination between authorities. This research addresses both the immediate crisis and contributes to future preparedness plans.
Organisations
- University of Exeter (Lead Research Organisation)
- Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) (Collaboration)
- Hackney Council (Project Partner)
- Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum (Project Partner)
- Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (Project Partner)
- Nat Assoc of Waste Disposal Officers (Project Partner)
- Westminster City Council (Project Partner)
Publications
Garnett E
(2022)
The work of waste during COVID-19: logics of public, environmental, and occupational health
in Critical Public Health
Souter, N
(2020)
UK Waste Sector COVID-19 Response and Resilience Report
| Description | The award's objectives - to investigate and support the waste sector's response to COVID-19 were met. The award has ended, and the first peer-reviewed research paper has been accepted for publication in Critical Public Health. The investigators are continuing to write up the findings of the project for publication and are extending the impact of their industry-facing outputs. These are five broad findings at this point in the process: 1) The UK waste sector is highly fragmented, marketised, and privatised. There was initial willingness to collaborate across the sector to address the challenges of COVID-19 in 2020, however the sector is ultimately shaped by competition which prevents the necessary sharing of resources and information. Operations largely went "back to normal" in 2021, and it is unclear the extent to which lessons have been learned for future preparedness plans. We published a report on the sector's initial response - based on workshops with high-level decision makers in each devolved administration - in late 2020. The industry report is being circulated through public, private, and third sector organisations involved in waste management. 2) The sector fundamentally relies on its "frontline" key workers for its resilience during COVID-19. We found that these key workers are often employed on precarious contracts, with low pay, and work in hazardous conditions. Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, this was one of the most dangerous sectors to work in within the UK. COVID-19 has exacerbated these conditions, and workers have subsequently undertaken industrial action. 3) Despite the centrality of key workers in collections, sorting, and disposal, the voices of waste sector workers are routinely excluded or remain poorly represented in decision-making processes. There are ongoing and longstanding tensions between unions, government agencies, local authorities, and waste management companies. These tensions add another dimension of fragmentedness in the sector and impacts its resilience and capacity to enact change (findings 2 and 3 are currently being drafted for peer review publication in a geography journal, in addition to a short report based on the paper for the Waste Industry Health and Safety forum) 4) Despite being central to the delivery of services, small and medium enterprises are often overlooked in decision making, strategic planning, and data collection, within the waste sector - the emphasis is largely on the large "big 5" corporations. Our project undertook a SME survey in Scotland and is sharing the dataset with Resource Management Association Scotland to write a resilience plan for the next 20 years. 5) We found that public health, occupational health, and environmental health are often disconnected or in tension within research and interventions during COVID-19. The problem of waste provides opportunities to draw links between different logics of health, and generate a "planetary health" approach that prioritises social and environmental justice. This finding is being published in a research paper in Critical Public Health (Garnett et al. 2022). |
| Exploitation Route | - The first Response and Resilience Report (Souter et al. 2020) has been circulated through public, private, and third sector organisations involved in waste management. This aims to inform future preparedness plans and build resilience - particularly within local authorities. - The qualitative data set from our waste industry survey is being used to write a waste sector plan for Scotland to build resilience - led by Resource Management Association Scotland. - The findings from our Critical Public Health paper (Garnett et al. 2022) aim to create links across public health, environmental health, and occupational health in research and policy - The findings on the inequalities faced by key workers in collections and disposal will inform the policies of the Waste Industry Health and Safety forum through a dedicated report |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Transport |
| URL | https://www.circularonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/UK-Waste-Sector-COVID-19-Response-and-Resilience-Report.pdf |
| Description | Our findings are currently being used in two key ways (our upcoming academic and industry-facing publications will significantly expand this list): 1) The process of research - specifically the UK COVID-19 Waste Sector Response and Resilience Workshops - enabled conversations across stakeholders that had not previously come together. In particular, decision makers and leaders in clinical and healthcare waste management working across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Impact from these meetings (aside from bringing these leaders together for the first time) is still emerging - the reports from the workshops were circulated widely within the sector. Industry members provided feedback on the relevance of the reports. The qualitative data set generated from our Scotland-focussed waste management survey is being used to write a long-term strategic Waste Sector Plan for Scotland - led by Resource Management Association Scotland. This plan will focus on the (often neglected) role of SME's in the waste sector. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | Chartered Institution of Wastes Management Partnership |
| Organisation | Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We have worked in partnership to undertake a series of "COVID-19 Response and Resilience" workshops for decision-makers across public, private, and third sector, for each devolved administration. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners Co-Chaired, co-authored, and published the 'UK Waste Sector COVID-19 Response and Resilience Report' (2020) which emerged from the series of workshops. |
| Impact | Souter N, Balayannis A, Jennings P et al (2020) 'UK Waste Sector COVID-19 Response and Resilience Report' Chartered Institution of Wastes Management. This is a transdisciplinary output, co-produced by industry and the ESRC team. Academic disciplines involved include: human geography, environmental engineering, and public health. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | COVID-19 Waste Colloquium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The team established the COVID-19 Waste Colloquium. An interdisciplinary and international forum for researchers undertaking work at the intersections of waste (in its broadest material and conceptual sense) and COVID-19. The monthly colloquium assembled a diverse range of fields and disciplines - including geography, STS, political economy, gender studies, literature, and anthropology. The colloquium had three key aims: • To discuss recently published research at the intersections of waste and COVID-19 • To share work-in-progress • To collectively develop more transboundary and interdisciplinary understandings of the relations between COVID-19 and waste. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://covid19wasteproject.org/covid-19-waste-colloquium/ |
| Description | Feature interview for industry news |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The PI, Angeliki Balayannis, was interviewed by the Editor of Materials Recycling Weekly (MRW). This is the largest publication for the waste and resource management sector in the UK. The intended purpose was to promote the project to the sector and recruit industry participants for interviews and workshops. Two industry organisations and one third sector organisation got in touch with the PI in direct response to the article. The PI was later invited present on a panel at an industry conference sponsored by MRW. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.mrw.co.uk/analysis-and-markets/academics-study-how-we-did-in-the-pandemic-26-07-2020/ |
| Description | Hosted Interdisciplinary Roundtable (On labour and waste with international Unruly Heritage network) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Approximately 10 researchers attended this workshop - around half were postgraduate students - where the PI led a roundtable on waste and labour. They were able to share emerging findings from the COVID-19 waste project and discuss the methodological implications of their work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://unrulyheritage.com/ |
| Description | Industry Conference Panel Member |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The PI, Angeliki Balayannis, was invited to be part of an expert panel at an industry conference - the 'MRW National Recycling Awards'. The panel had three members - the PI, representing research and development; a Local Authority waste management professional; and a CEO in the private sector. The organisers have reached out to the PI for further involvement in future conferences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://nra.mrw.co.uk/speakers/angeliki-balayannis |
| Description | Invited public seminar RMIT Centre for Urban Research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The PI presented a guest seminar to the RMIT Centre for Urban Research, titled "The work of pandemic infrastructures: waste, labour, and COVID-19" The online seminar was open to the public, had a lengthy discussion afterwards with a diverse audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Project Twitter Account |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A Twitter account was established for the project. This has a broad audience across industry and research. it is used to share the research process, but also positions itself as a central point for circulating information on waste and COVID-19 internationally. Two industry members have approached the investigators by responding through the chat and have circulated tweets from the account. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/COVID19Waste |
| Description | Project Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | A project website was created to primarily engage with industry partners and participants. It includes an outline of the project, its investigators, and ongoing outputs. This website has been included in all project communications - including university press releases - and has received 483 views since across 44 countries. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| URL | https://covid19wasteproject.org/ |
| Description | Royal Geographical Society guest talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PI and Co-I Hinchliffe discussed emerging findings from the project in the first of the Geographies of Health and Wellbeing Research Group's new webinar series 'Conversations on COVID-19'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://ghwrg.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | University of Glasgow Guest Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The PI presented the emerging findings of the project to the Department of Geography at the University of Glasgow. The presentation was followed by a Q and A. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |