Document Type : CASE STUDY
Authors
1 Team of Applied Spectro-Chemometry and Environment. University of Sultan Moulay Slimane, Beni Mellal, Morocco
2 Team of Agro-Industrial and Environmental Processes. University of Sultan of Moulay Slimane, Beni Mellal, Morocco
3 Laboratory of Landscape dynamics, Risks and Heritage, University of Sultan of Moulay Slimane, Beni Mellal, Morocco
4 Khenifra Province, Division of Local Communities, Service of the Planning and Equipment, Khenifra, Morocco
5 Division of Sustainable Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Education City, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar
Abstract
Houshold waste is the residue generated daily by people as a result of consuming goods and services. The qualitative and quantitative aspects depend on the lifestyle and standard of living of citizens. Hence a change in habits, following an economic or health crisis, can influence the production of waste and its composition. The objective of the present work is to assess the impact of lockdown on the generation of trash and on the habits related to the consumption of goods in two communes in Morocco. More specifically, this study would investigate the behavior of citizens with regard to protective equipment against the coronavirus COVID-19. The results of the survey show that there is an influence of lockdown on the items purchased during this period, with an increase in the purchase of disinfectant products and a decrease in the consumption of meat and canned goods. Thus, the results showed that the quantity of organic fractions had decreased in the domestic waste with the appearance of other fractions such as residues of cleaning products. In addition, the survey conducted showed that 87% of respondents mix coronavirus protective equipment with household waste, which may contribute to the spread of the virus. Concerning the quantitative aspect, the weigh-ups showed that the monthly rate of increase of waste production between the months of February and March 2019 and the corresponding period in 2020 have decreased from +11.41% to +3.8% in the city of Khenifra (from 2,572 ton in Mars 2019 to 2,456 ton in the correspondent period in 2020) and from +4.73% to -1.23% in the center of Tighassaline (from 136 ton in Mars 2019 to 123 ton in the correspondent period in 2020).
Graphical Abstract
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Highlights
- COVID-19 has significant impact on quantitative and qualitative aspects of municipal solid waste in Morocco;
- COVID-19 has impacted shopping and waste production habits in the study area;
- Purchase of disinfectant products has increased while consumption of meat and canned goods has decreased;
- Sanitary waste was mixed with household waste in 87% of cases impacting risk of contamination;
- Significant drop in tonnage of monthly rate of waste production was observed in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
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©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.
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