The Guidance on Policy and Legislation for Integrated Waste Management during a Pandemic provides support to countries in their efforts to develop or revise their legislation and policies to be better prepared for and respond to health and environment risks associated with waste management in case of a future pandemic. It builds on the UNEP 2016 Guidelines for Framework Legislation for Integrated Waste Management, which provided relevant information to countries involved in developing waste management legislation.
A combination of in-depth case studies and results from an online survey distributed to the National Focal Points of the Montevideo Programme V (Montevideo National Focal Points) underpinned the analysis of national measures adopted for COVID-19 waste management. The Guidance presents the elements of framework measures that could be adopted by countries (or used as a basis for revision of existing structures) to enhance preparedness to deal with waste management challenges in future pandemic scenarios.
The guidance offers a checklist with a menu of options for countries to consider for inclusion in pandemic waste legislation and policy guidelines, which contributes to a green recovery and enables countries to build back better.
The executive summary of the publication is available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish languages.
