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Clean up

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Clean up

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Content CLEAN UP
by
Vaishnavi Vasudevan
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION AND JOURNALISM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
May 2022
Copyright 2022 Vaishnavi Vasudevan
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ii
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................iii
Documentary Script.................................................................................................................1
Bibliography............................................................................................................................31
Acknowledgements
This project wouldn't have been possible without the creative and editorial guidance of my Prof.
and Chair of the thesis committee, Daniel .H. Birman. The feedback received from him
throughout the process helped me tell an extremely strong, well-researched story about medical
waste disposal during the pandemic. I thank him for reviewing carefully every draft shared with
him in the last few months. Without his support, guidance and critique, this project wouldn’t have
been possible.
I would also like to thank my second committee member, Stuart Sender, who always motivated
me and provided valuable inputs since the time I chose to explore this topic. The work done in
his class helped me tremendously to tell this important story.
I extend my gratitude to all the characters in the script who shared their experiences and
allowed me to do an in-person interview even in the midst of a pandemic. Their cooperation and
support helped me bring to light the ground realities during such a challenging time.
My family in India constantly encouraged me to complete this story despite being aware of the
risks involved in it. I am highly grateful to them for their encouragement.
My third committee member, Prof. Sandy Tolan has been an outstanding educator to me and I
thank him for guiding me throughout my journey at the University of Southern California.
ii
Abstract
The global pandemic brought with it unprecedented challenges. Large quantities of bio medical
waste is generated every minute on this planet. Where do our masks, gloves, PPE kits and
other Covid-19 waste go? What happens to it and does that impact us? ‘Clean Up’ is a
documentary journey centering on the disposal of hazardous waste we generate in my
hometown of Mumbai. My investigation looks at some of the problems caused by medical
waste. While this story takes place in Mumbai, medical waste during the pandemic is likely to
be a problem everywhere; impacting our land, air and water. During the height of the pandemic
in India, I traveled with a waste collector, met locals who live near the incinerator and interacted
with those who deep dived into the oceans to collect medical waste found underwater. With the
lens on a developing nation, I tell a story that is of global concern.
This story began to develop when I was locked in my house in Mumbai in 2020. During the
pandemic, I casually wondered where all the masks, gloves and medical waste we use really
went. The next day, I stepped out of my house to track the journey of waste disposed of from
hospitals, even as the deadly virus was spreading fast in the city. Adorning a PPE kit and with
safety measures in place, I reached one of the biggest Covid care hospitals in Mumbai.
What I saw since then, opened a Pandora's box for me as a journalist. My curiosity slowly
started to develop into a story. The deeper I delved into it, more eye-opening facts came to the
fore. The waste was collected by the waste collectors, who often got exposed to the virus
themselves. They suffered, and yet reported to work with little safety equipment.
iii
But the story of the pandemic waste doesn’t end there, instead begins right after these waste
collectors dispose of the waste. The situation on the ground opened my eyes to the harsh
reality.
I realized there is a need to inform the world about medical waste generated during the
pandemic and how it is being managed. Today, we are in the third year of the Covid-19
pandemic and as it still continues, it is unknown how long we will continue using masks or
protective gear in hospitals. This left me with the question: how do we address this problem?
After extensive research and interaction with experts, stakeholders and environmentalists, I
completed this project titled ‘Clean Up’ which is centered on the generation of medical waste.
According to the American Chemical Society’s report, the world uses 129 billion masks per
month, 3 million a minute, or 50,000 every second. Researchers warn that many end up as
1
potentially toxic micro and nano plastic or carriers for other toxicants in the environment. It is
2
then that I realized there is a need to get this information out as a journalist in order to create
awareness among various groups. My choice was to create a video documentary to show larger
concerns that might not be understood by a global public.
I started to shoot this film during the height of the pandemic between August 2020 to August
2021 in India. Mumbai was one of the cities in India with the highest number of Covid-19 cases.
During the first wave of the pandemic, I interviewed waste collectors who picked up Covid-19
2
2021. “Preventing Masks from Becoming the Next Plastic Problem” Frontiers of Environmental Science and
Engineering
1
2020. “Covid19 Pandemic Repercussions on the Use and Management of Plastics” American Chemical Society
iv
waste from hospitals. I followed a garbage truck and tracked the journey of the waste. My
investigation brought to light that some of the waste went to the medical waste incinerator and
some to an open landfill. A central theme of the story then emerged about how the medical
waste was being handled. Mumbai elected to burn its medical waste. As I delved deeper into
the subject, I met residents who lived close to the waste incinerator and sometimes also came
in contact with patients in the region who were possibly infected with tuberculosis. I spoke with a
pulmonologist who talked about the effect of smoke released from the incinerator.
More research in the next few months led me to believe that masks and other protective gear
we use are almost everywhere, including our oceans. More than eight million tons of
pandemic-associated plastic waste have been generated globally, with more than 25,000 tons
entering the global ocean. Most of the plastic is from medical waste generated by hospitals that
dwarfs the contribution from personal protection equipment and online-shopping package
material.
3
This revealed to me that the problem of medical waste affecting our environment was not just
limited to India. Masks were found on the beaches of Hong Kong , medical waste incinerators
4
were still functional in some parts of the United States , and many other countries mismanaged
5
Covid-19 waste that came during the pandemic. Meanwhile, there were healthcare
organizations that tried to find ways to reduce medical waste. All of this led me to tell this story
of global concern with my focus on a low income country i.e. India.
5
2019 “How US hospitals cleaned up their toxic trash” PBS Newshour
4
2020. “Discarded coronavirus masks clutter Hongkong’s beaches, trails”Reuters
3
2021. “Plastic waste released caused by covid 19 and its fate in the global ocean” Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
v
There were many challenges during the course of this documentary. One of the biggest
challenges was my safety as I worked in the field when the country was under a lockdown
battling a deadly virus. Finding the right voices whom I could interview in person was a huge
challenge throughout the course of the project as many of them were hesitant to meet due to
the pandemic. As this topic and the issue of pandemic waste was relatively new during the
period, it was also a challenge initially to find new research papers and the right experts.
I enlisted the help of various researchers, academicians and healthcare experts who helped to
contextualize my observations toward creating a more powerful story. Time and resources were
two variables that limited my outcome. During my research, I found that some parts of India
were haphazardly disposing of medical waste, however due to travel bans, it was difficult to
travel and shoot beyond my hometown. Similarly, other countries also mismanaged the
pandemic waste. Thus, the subject matter lends itself to further research and exploration. If I
would have had the resources and the opportunity to expand this story, I would have worked to
include a broader perspective to make this into a feature documentary by investigating further,
adding expert opinions, exploring solutions, and showing other options in other regions.
vi
Documentary Script
Black fade in music
NAT Sound
Mumbai before sunrise
Newspaper vendors segregating newspapers
Milk delivery men at work
Essential workers waiting for the bus
VO: AVINASH PILLAI
Waste Collector
Avinash Pillai walking to his workplace
Sunrise
I leave home at 5.30am, take a bus to the
station, then train and walk from the station to
my workplace.
VO: PILLAI
NAT Sound
Garbage vehicles parked on the streets
Avinash Pillai opening the PPE kits
Reveal shot of Avinash Pillai
Pillai wearing PPE kit - the suit, gloves,
glasses, head cover, etc.
I am a garbage collector. I work on one of the
garbage trucks. The vehicle is meant to
collect only Covid waste. We take the vehicle
and go to only quarantine locations like
hospitals, hotels and stays.
From hospitals, we pick up injections,
medicines and all medical items without fear.
Patients’ clothes, gloves, masks are in it.
1
VO: PILLAI
Shots of Pillai climbing up the truck
Truck leaves.
Shot of moving truck on an empty street.
In this world, no one was working during the
pandemic. Everybody was staying indoors
out of fear of the virus.
SOT: PILLAI There was fear in every person. We were not
scared.
VO: Newscast India Today
NAT sound
Overcrowded hospitals, busy intensive care
units
Source:
“Mumbai Worst Hit by Coronavirus in Maharashtra”
India Today
April 9, 2020
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/ground-report-mumbai-wo
rst-hit-by-coronavirus-in-maharashtra-1665008-2020-04-09?jw
source=cl
Mumbai continues to be named as one of the
coronavirus hotspots. The civic body, BMC
has identified different wards that are critical
in the city.
2
VO: STALIN DAYANAND
Environmentalist
Director, Mumbai based NGO Vanashakti
Covid ward
Doctors treating patients
Every hospital was filled. So many antibiotics,
so many steroids, injections, all kinds of
medicines, creams, tablets, PPE kits. You
name it and everything was used.
VO: STALIN
People using masks, gloves, PPE kits.
Protective gear sold in pharmacies
People wearing masks
Cabs using shields for separation.
Boards with ‘No Mask, No Entry’
People started using more and more
disposable articles to protect themselves
from the virus. They range from masks to
sanitizers, gloves and everything.
SOT : STALIN It just came out all of a sudden in your face,
like what do you do with this?
SOT: LATA MISHRA
Senior Health Journalist, Times Network,
Mumbai
What about the ongoing biomedical waste
which is coming from hospitals or homes,
how are you treating them?
3
VO: MISHRA
Music
Truck on city lanes, moving towards
incinerator
What kind of precautionary measures have
been taken? Where are they taking this
material? How is it getting disposed of?
Music
TITLE
CLEAN UP
VO: Newscast WION News
NAT Sound
Mumbai, January 2020
Wuhan doctors and administration fighting the
virus.
Source:
2020.“What is Happening inside Wuhan”
WION News
Jan 27,2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2PJa1pwfLc
At the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus lies
Wuhan, the largest city in Central China.
1000 more cases are expected in the near
future. The city is under a complete
lockdown.
4
VO: MISHRA
Situation in Wuhan
Archival footage of travelers screened at the
airport.
When the Covid-19 cases started coming in
China, nobody was bothered. We used to
read about it.
VO: MISHRA
Travelers entering India or Mumbai.
Visuals of testing at the airport.
Establish Mumbai airport and shots of the
buzzing city.
In the past, we have heard about SARS, Bird
Flu, but it has never affected us so much. We
never thought that this would actually come
to our country and our city would stop.
VO: PM Narendra Modi’s announcement
about the lockdown.
Music
Black fade out
Silent streets, deserted iconic locations
To protect India, to protect every citizen of
India, to protect you and your families,
there is going to be a complete restriction on
leaving your homes. Every state, every union
territory, every district, village, locality and
street will now be under lockdown.
Music
NAT Sound
Inside Mumbai hospitals
Doctors working
5
VO: MISHRA
Activities inside the hospital
Covid 19 special wards
Emergency activities.
We got some 2000 cases in May, then 5000
by June. We were later 10,000 cases per day.
VO: MISHRA
Doctors disposing of their gloves or masks.
In 24 hours, hospitals were getting prepared,
beds getting ready. Everybody was working
together. Jumbo facilities came up. It was like
a race against time.
VO: MISHRA
Waste bags carried out of the hospital room
When the cases went up, then obviously the
bio medical waste was another challenge.
SOT: STALIN What was a trickle became a flood and there
was no stopping it.
VO: PILLAI
Waste collection visuals.
Visuals of waste in the truck
From hospitals, injections, medicines, and all
medical things, we pick up without fear.
Patients' clothes, masks, gloves, injections
etc are in it.
VO: PILLAI
Truck exiting the Seven Hills hospital
We first go to the Seven hills hospitals. It is
the biggest hospital. In the hospital there are
6
medical waste bags in large quantities. There
are at least 15-20 hospitals we visit in a day.
VO: PILLAI
Following the truck.
From hospitals, we go to hotels. We pick up
waste from patients who stay in these hotels.
VO: PILLAI
Truck stops.
Avinash Pillai collects waste from hotels and
quarantine centres.
We would do that donning a PPE kit which is
very uncomfortable. Others would think, if we
touch these items, we will be exposed to the
virus. We never thought like that.
VO: PILLAI
Covid 19 waste bags
The food items in the bags are disposed of in
such a way that we get all the waste on our
body while lifting the bags. We still bear
everything.
VO: PILLAI
Pillai lifting torn bags
The moment we pick up these bags, it just
tears. By the time we take it till the vehicle, it
gets even worse.
SOT: PILLAI There is a lot of risk involved. We worked so
hard. We are tired of working. I have been
working since 6 years but we didn't face so
many problems all these years.
7
Music
TEXT CARD
On 22 May 2020, Avinash Pillai tested
positive for the novel coronavirus.
Music: Tense
Pillai engaged in his thoughts
VO: PILLAI
Pillai in his thoughts
Even if the gloves are torn and waste
material or syringes prick us, we would still
work. Because we know we have to do this.
That’s why I contracted the virus.
NAT Sound
Music
Ambulance on the road
VO: PILLAI
Entrance of the quarantine center
Nurse/doctors treating patients at the
quarantine center.
When tested positive, they asked me to
quarantine for 15 days. From my office, BMC
took me to the quarantine center and I was
under quarantine for 10 days. Another 7 days
they asked me to take a rest.
8
Music
SOT: A garbage collector removes oxygen
mask and records a video from his hospital
bed
Hello friends, I am admitted in the hospital for
Covid 19. I am a garbage truck driver and I
appeal to all my fellow garbage collectors to
please be cautious. Protect yourself from the
virus. Be careful. This virus is dangerous.
SOT: MILIND RANADE
Leader
Trade Union of contract sanitation workers in
Mumbai
When this pandemic started, nobody knew
how to handle it. So the first person who was
sent to collect garbage from the area where
corona patients were found were contract
laborers. They were not given PPE kits.
VO: RANADE
Visuals of garbage trucks lined up
So we had to demand, “Unless and until you
give us PPE kits, workers would not work.”
After this, they gave them kits and asked
workers “after you finish the work, you take it
home, wash it at home, dry it and bring it the
next day.” This is absolutely absurd.
VO: RANADE
Workers at work
More than 100 workers were ill because of
COVID. Those were workers who were
working directly on the garbage vans. They
are not paid minimum wages.
9
VO: RANADE
Montage of workers who were sacked.
They asked for minimum wages and they
were sacked. Those workers were working
on covid trucks that collect garbage from the
hospitals or quarantine centers.
VO: PILLAI
Workers collecting garbage
2-3 colleagues got pricked by injection. One
of them fell ill for a few days before I got
Covid because of the injection/syringe that
pricked. He got a fever. Despite that, we were
reporting to work.
VO: PILLAI
Waste being loaded
They tell us to pick up garbage, we do it.
They tell us to go on the garbage vehicle , we
do it. They tell us to work, we do. No matter
what kind of work it is, we do it.
VO: PILLAI
Pillai picking up waste bags and throwing
them in the truck.
If people like us would not have worked
during the pandemic, the world would have
been stinking today.
SOT : RANADE
Source:
2020.”No masks,no gloves” Foreign Policy
This is a class and caste exploitation.
Permanent safai (cleaning) workers are
Dalits. Dalits means those who were called
as untouchables- the last person in the
ladder of caste based hierarchy. They are
10
With India on lockdown, hundreds of thousands of people are
cleaning up trash, medical waste, and even sewage without
any protective equipment.
Puja Changoiwala
April 9, 2020
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/09/india-lockdown-sanitation-
workers-manual-scavengers-masks-gloves-coronavirus/
illiterate migrant workers. So they are the
easiest lot to exploit.
During the pandemic, they were the most
neglected lot.
Music
TEXT CARD 1
HUNDREDS OF WASTE COLLECTORS IN
MUMBAI AND ACROSS THE WORLD
WERE REPORTING FOR DUTY AT THE
RISK OF COVID-19 EXPOSURE.
THESE WASTE COLLECTORS CONTINUE
TO CLEAN UP CONSTANT GENERATION
OF MEDICAL WASTE EVERY DAY.
IN MUMBAI, AS SOON AS THEY
TRANSPORT THIS WASTE TO ITS
DESTINATION, A NEW PROBLEM BEGINS.
11
Source:
2020: “In Mumbai,coronavirus-related waste is piling up”
Scroll.in
Tanvi Deshpande
September 4, 2020
https://scroll.in/article/972060/in-mumbai-coronavirus-related-w
aste-is-piling-up
2020. “No Masks, No Gloves” Foreign Policy
With India on lockdown, hundreds of thousands of people are
cleaning up trash, medical waste, and even sewage without
any protective equipment.
Puja Changoiwala
April 9, 2020
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/09/india-lockdown-sanitation-
workers-manual-scavengers-masks-gloves-coronavirus/
Music
TEXT CARD 2
(Numbers in Mumbai)
120 HOSPITALS
60 COVID CARE CENTERS
44,497 hospital beds
800,000 PATIENTS
55 TONS OF MEDICAL WASTE PER DAY
DESTINATION: ONE INCINERATOR
12
Source: “Stop Coronavirus” Municipal Corporation of Greater
Mumbai
Music
Fade out from black
Wide shot of incinerator located in midst of a
populated city
VO: ARVIND TIWARI
A Resident
Wide shot of the locality from his bedroom
window from where bio medical waste
incinerator is seen
We are in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai,
which is very close to the coastline of the
Arabian Sea and the Thane creek, and we
are overlooking Navi Mumbai. A kilometer
away is our bio medical waste incinerator.
VO: TIWARI
Mid shot of the incinerator and the smoke
released.
I have been staying here in this locality since
2008. We see the smoke coming out of the
incinerator now the whole day, specifically
after Covid. I feel that the bio medical waste
plant is functioning round the clock.
VO: TIWARI
Close up of incinerator
Huge thick smoke is billowing out of it. White
smoke and we can see it all throughout the
day.
13
VO: TIWARI
Shots of Tiwari walking up to the terrace of
the building
The bio medical waste incinerator is
functioning not only within the city limits but
particularly in a densely populated area.
SOT: TIWARI The whole locality has respiratory problems.
Children are born with asthma, and later on
developing respiratory problems.
VO: TIWARI
Aerial view of the area or closer view of the
densely populated area
The bio medical waste incinerator no one
knew was coming up. We just came to know
one fine day that this is a bio medical waste
incinerator. We knew there was a
government project coming up. Something no
one objected to, very frankly, until the effects
started happening on our health.
VO: TIWARI
Shots of the thick smoke coming out
That is when the local people rallied on and
tried filing complaints and filed RTI
applications to gain information.
SOT: SHAIKH FAYAZ ALAM
Member, NGO New Sangam Welfare Society
It has been so terrible. There is no way we
can breathe normally. The smoke is ongoing
throughout the day.
14
VO: ALAM
Shots of local area people, living conditions
We live in the slums. The incinerator is next
to our compound wall. Right now due to
Covid 19 pandemic, the situation has turned
worse. The smoke has led to respiratory
problems in the area which is worse than
usual. How do we breathe living so close to
the incinerator?
VO: TIWARI
Shots of people living around the incinerator
I don't think this can go on for very long. The
dependence on this incinerator must be
reduced because the whole locality is
suffering.
VO: TIWARI
Trucks on the highway
Traveling towards the incinerator
We need to understand that Covid is not a
temporary thing now. We need to live with
Covid and what is happening is that
everything is coming here. It's like, you know,
we want our backyards clean, let others'
backyards be dirty. This attitude has to
change.
TEXT CARD
15
More than 800,000 people live within 5kms
radius of the incinerator which is equal to 8.5
percent of Mumbai’s suburban population.
Source:
Census of India 2011, Maharashtra, District Census Handbook,
Mumbai Suburban
https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/DCHB_A/27/2722_
PART_A_DCHB_MUMBAI%20SUBURBAN.pdf
VO: DR. VIKAS OSWAL, PULMONOLOGIST
Shots of Dr.’s clinic
Board that shows his name
We should know that any waste which is
being incinerated and converted to smoke,
the smoke is more harmful than what quality
or material is being incinerated.
SOT: DR. OSWAL
Aerial or Go pro shots of the locality and bad
quality air.
Source:
2021.”Taking on a burning problem: Mumbai’s air pollution”
Observer Research Foundation
Badri Chatterjee
November 27, 2021
The air quality which they are respiring or
inhaling over there is also not upto mark.
You can put it this way: they are actually
inhaling the most harmful gasses.
16
VO: DR. OSWAL
NAT Sound
Dr. Oswal walking into his clinic.
Dr. Oswal general shots at work
Off lately, we're seeing individual lung
disease coming up quite high in this area. If
you see our OPD outpatient department, we
are seeing at least 50 to 60 patients per day
only of respiratory infections.
NAT Sound
Dr. Oswal talking to patients
You need to continue these medicines and
complete the course of treatment, else your
breathing issues may turn worse.
VO: DR. OSWAL
Prescribing medicines to patients
Patients sitting at his clinic
If you see the figures,TB is highest in this
area. Each and every house may have a
minimum one single positive case confirmed.
VO: DR. OSWAL
Shots of families or females
Shots of the crowded clinic
In these two years, I would say, the major
change, what I can see right now is the age
group of 12 to 30, especially the female
population. We have seen a rise in the
number of cases in this particular area. There
is a rise in TB cases from the 20 to 30 age
group, especially the female population.
VO: DR. OSWAL
Shots from the clinic
The immune system of the people staying in
this area is already on the lower side, adding
17
Children at the clinic on to their socioeconomic status, their
malnutrition and poor hygiene.
SOT: DR. OSWAL
Source:
2019: “At the Deonar Dumping Ground in Mumbai, People
Barely Make It to the Age of Forty” The Wire
Apekshita Varshney
April 24, 2019
https://thewire.in/environment/deonar-mumbai-slum-waste-dum
ping-ground
2015.”Social Economic Conditions and Vulnerabilities: A report
on the Baseline Survey of M(East) ward, Mumbai”
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
https://urk.tiss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/M-Ward-Repor
t.pdf
And upon that, the quality of air they are
inhaling. So all this leads to a
immunosuppressive condition where they're
more prone to develop this kind of disease at
the earlier stages.
VO: Newscast: Mirror Now
Black fade out
Text card: September 2020
Source:
2020.”Mumbai civic body revises isolation
guidelines,asymptomatic patients to stay at home” Mirror Now
September 13, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GexKS-ki1SQ
Due to shortage of beds in hospitals, BMC
has issued new guidelines that asymptomatic
patients irrespective of any age must home
isolate and not seek a hospital bed.
NAT Sound
18
Municipal officials outside one of the Covid 19
patients’ apartment
SOT: MISHRA When people were treated at home, they
were not segregating it properly. And that
time, a major problem happened in terms of
disposing of the bio medical waste.
VO: STALIN
Municipal officials sticking notes on patients’
doors.
Sanitization process underway.
The corporation knows which house has
Covid patients. Their role seems to have
ended with putting a notice on their door
saying that there is a Covid patient here.
NAT Sound
Municipal corporation workers do paper work
and leave the premises after sanitization.
SOT: STALIN They have not provided separate bags for the
patients to collect waste.
VO: STALIN
The community’s waste collector walking out
of the lift.
Collecting garbage from other apartments
There is no mechanism to collect bio medical
waste from the households. What do people
do? They just put it in a plastic bag and throw
it into their household bin.
19
VO: STALIN
Same waste picker also collects waste of
at-home patients and mixes it with other daily
waste.
And it is taken by the garbage collector who
comes to your home. It is hapless workers
who are picking. The conservancy workers
and the garbage collectors who just have no
option.
SOT: STALIN The situation itself had become so
overwhelming that it was just not in my
backyard syndrome. Just take it away. I don't
care what you do with it.
TEXT CARD
The city generated between 10-20 tons of bio
medical waste per day from hospitals alone
prior to the pandemic.
During peak days of the pandemic, it reached
upto 55 metric tons per day.
Source:
2021. “Maharashtra topped in bio medical waste generation in
past year:Report” Indian Express
Sanjana Bhalerao
August 16, 2021
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/maharashtra-to
pped-in-bio-medical-waste-generation-in-past-year-report-7455
517/
20
SOT: MISHRA The incinerator was taking a lot of load. Twice
it got shut because of the load.
VO: STALIN D
Garbage truck entering the landfill
Garbage truck on top of the dumpyard
So ultimately there is only one place . The
garbage truck and the landfill. If you go to any
landfill today, you will find the majority of the
material. There are masks, syringes, used
medicines, gloves and surgical material all
post covid treatment materials. All of these
things.
VO: STALIN D
Wide shots of landfill
Source:
2021. “Covid19 and waste management in Indian scenario:
Challenges and Possible Solutions” US National Library of
Medicine, National Institute of Health
Richa Kothari, Sinha Sahab, Har Mohan Singh, Rajeev Pratap
Singh, Bhaskar Singh, Deepak Pathania, Anita Singh, Shweta
Yadav, Tanu Allen, Sohini Singh and Vineet Veer Tyagi
August 30, 2021
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8404760/
The landfills are not foolproof systems. The
landfill currently being used is something we
just call a bioreactor, which means leave the
material open in the sunlight, let the water
and elements degrade into it. You are
spreading the bacteria into the atmosphere.
21
2017: “Life cycle Assessment of potential solid waste
management strategies for Mumbai,India” SageJournals
Bhupendra K Sharma, Munish K Chandel
January 1, 2017
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0734242X16675
683?journalCode=wmra
VO: STALIN D
Wide shots of mangroves
Water body
Source:
“Deonar dumping ground is polluting Thane creek, says MoEF
report” Hindustan Times
Laxman Singh
April 06, 2016
https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/deonar-dumpyard-is-
polluting-thane-creek-says-moef-report/story-ePkeD39DrCFW
mEWfwLH7HP.html
With every rain, whatever washes out, what
goes into the mangroves and comes again
into the food chain. Like it is a never ending
system.
Sounds of the water
Close up shots of water
Reveal ocean
Location: Visakhapatnam
VO: SUBHASH CHANDRAN,
Scuba Diver
It was in September 2020, when I went diving
into the ocean. I was shocked to see tons of
22
Founder, Platypus Escapes
Underwater diving
Garbage inside the ocean.
Medical waste underwater found while diving.
medical waste in it. We then started clean up
drives along the coast of Vizag. With my
team, we collected 25000 kgs of waste from
the ocean. This was just from one coastal
region of India.
SOT: CHANDRAN The waste included masks, PPE kits,
syringes, medicine strips and all other kinds
of materials.
VO: CHANDRAN
The drain in which medical waste is disposed
of.
All kind of waste floating in the water and
reaching the ocean
It all comes from various sources. There is a
drainage line in the city. There are many
hospitals and other residential structures
along the drain. People dump all kinds of
waste including bio medical waste in this
drain. It eventually flows and ends up in the
ocean.
If this huge quantity of waste is generated
and we don't know how to dispose of it, it is a
serious concern for our environment.
NAT Sound
Clean up drive by Chandran and his team
23
SOT: DR. TEALE PHELPS BONDAROFF,
Director, OceansAsia
Source:
“Masks on the Beach: The Impact of Covid 19 on Marine
Plastic Pollution” OceansAsia
Dr. Teale Phelps Bondarff, Director of Research, OceansAsia
Sam Cooke, Research Associate, OceansAsisa
December 2020
https://oceansasia.org/covid-19-facemasks/
In Hongkong, our team found thousands of
masks on the beach and in the ocean. It was
as if the nearby cities were disposing of the
waste into the ocean.
VO: DR. BONDAROFF
Clean up drives by OceansAsia
We must understand it was not just India but
the world that struggled managing the Covid
waste.
VO: DR. BONDAROFF
Masks floating in the water
Shore pictures, medical waste on the shore
In the United States or Canada for instance,
there were the same problems.
People used more and more protective gears
and disposed of without any knowledge about
the waste.
Face mask is just the tip of the iceberg.
Plastic usage increased due to the pandemic.
There is a return of plastic packaging too as
people prefer disposable items, take home
packets, etc.
24
All of that is coming into our oceans, our
environment.
NAT:
SOT: Gary Stokes, the team member who
cleaned up Soko Island shore
This is a very remote island and we do not
know where these masks are coming from. It
was just yesterday that I cleaned up the
beach and today found at least 70 masks
here.
VO: DR. BONDAROFF These masks made of polypropylene break
down into microplastics. Plastic pollution is a
serious problem. It is already devastating our
oceans and killing marine mammals.
TEXT CARD
According to Oceans Asia’s report, 1.56
million face masks entered the marine
environment in 2020.
It added up to 6240 metric tonnes of marine
plastic pollution.
Source:
“Masks on the Beach: The Impact of Covid 19 on Marine
Plastic Pollution” OceansAsia
25
Dr. Teale Phelps Bondarff, Director of Research, OceansAsia
Sam Cooke, Research Associate, OceansAsisa
December 2020
https://oceansasia.org/covid-19-facemasks/
Black fade out
NAT Sound
Lee on a hike
VO: GAIL LEE
Sustainability Director, University of
California, San Francisco
Lee picking up masks
When we use more single use plastic, it
means we use more energy and water. More
resources i.e. fossil fuel is used to make
these plastic masks. It, therefore, contributes
to climate change.
VO: LEE
Lee clearing masks on the way
Look at this. I have been seeing so many
masks on this trail. People just don't know
how to dispose of it.
VO: LEE
Lee hiking sequence
Collecting masks
Looking for more masks
Pandemic has taught us to adopt new ways
to reduce medical waste.
Sustainable practices in healthcare is indeed
the way forward. During Covid-19 first wave,
we had such a hard time finding gowns that
we decided to buy washable gowns. UCSF
26
then purchased 30,000 washable gowns
during the pandemic and that has helped
reduce the medical waste tremendously and
also saved $300,000 per year.
SOT: LEE The gown can be washed and used 75 times.
In the washing process, the virus gets
cleaned, so there is no chance of
transmission. Washable gowns are an
existing alternative for the healthcare
industry.
NAT SOUND:
Location: Wales, UK
Black screen fades into establishing shots of
the technology that converts medical waste
into reusable bricks.
VO: MATHEW RAPSON
Managing Director,
Thermal Compaction Group, UK
The manufacturing unit
When we realized the quantity of medical
waste being generated in hospitals, mostly
single use plastic, was high, we decided to
make these two technologies - Sterimelt and
Curtainmelt. Our idea was to address waste
at the source.
27
It was the need of the time and the same
year we introduced the technology, Covid-19
pandemic happened. So more and more
hospitals realized the need for such a
technology to reduce the large quantities of
waste generated everyday.
VO: RAPSON
NAT Sound
The working of the technology
Sterimelt is like a huge American fridge in
which all the hospital waste made of plastic
polypropylene like PPE, tray wraps and
drapes, mattress coverings, face masks used
in the hospital can be loaded. Using
controlled patented thermal technology, the
sheets are melted and converted into solid
blocks of polypropylene plastic. It can then be
brought into the plastic supply market to
make various other products like boxes,
school furniture, etc.
It can process 20kgs of waste per cycle and
takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
VO: RAPSON
Shots of the final product being packaged
It's time we all think about solutions that can
help save the planet. TCG is leading in it and
we are doing our bit.
28
VO: LEE
Shots of Lee picking up discarded masks
There is no one solution to this problem. A
reusable PPE or a technology that upcycles
the medical waste alone won't solve. There
are 1000 little things that we need to do in
healthcare.
SOT: LEE It must begin with the government. For
instance: We still do not have bins for
medical waste. Where do people dispose of
the masks?
VO: GARY COHEN
President and Founder,
Healthcare Without Harm
Cohen leaving his office
Driving to the nearby incinerator
Shots of incinerator in California/Boston
Cohen getting off his car
Smoke released
It's time we also think of alternatives to
incinerators. The pandemic has made us
realize that the impact of the incinerator could
be even worse now and in future.
The smoke/ gasses released from the
incinerators are basically dioxins which are
harmful for human health and are also
carcinogenic.
It is not just poor income countries like India.
Situation is almost similar in developed
nations too. In the US, a large number of
people are affected by the gasses released
29
from the incinerators. Most of them belong to
the lower income groups.
VO: COHEN
Establishing shots of the area around.
Living conditions of people around.
The waste collectors in the US were infected
too. Initially, no one knew how to handle this
waste. All countries were clueless. Everybody
was doing their job and firefighting the
situation. But the pandemic has shown us the
reality. It is now time to think of healthcare
without harming the environment.
VO: LEE
Montages of masks disposed of on the
ground
Two years after the World Health
Organization declared COVID-19 a global
pandemic, we’re still dependent on those
disposable blue plastic masks. The world
uses 129 billion per month, 3 million a
minute, or 50,000 every second.
SOT: LEE While no one could have predicted a
pandemic or its many byproducts, without
collective action and innovative thinking, we’ll
be fighting personal protective equipment
(PPE) long after the novel coronavirus is
gone.
30
Bibliography
2020. “Covid 19 Pandemic Repercussions on the Use and Management of Plastic” American
Chemical Society
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.0c02178
2021. “Plastic waste released caused by covid 19 and its fate in the global ocean” Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/47/e2111530118#ref-39
“Covid 19 and waste management in Indian scenario: challenges and possible solution” US
National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, Aug 30, 2021
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8404760/
“Preventing Masks from Becoming the next plastic problem” Frontiers of Environment Science
and Engineering
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11783-021-1413-7.pdf
“Taking on a burning problem: Mumbai’s air pollution” Observer Research Foundation,
November 2021
https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/taking-on-a-burning-problem-mumbais-air-pollution/
Covid19 pollution: Impact of Covid 19 pandemic on global plastic waste footprint, US National
Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, February 20, 2021
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7896824/
“Social Economic Conditions and the Vulnerabilities, A report of the Baseline survey, M East
Ward” Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai 2015
https://urk.tiss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/M-Ward-Report.pdf
31

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic brought with it unprecedented challenges. What the world is yet to realize is the impact of the medical waste.
Large quantity of waste is generated every minute on this planet. Where do our masks, gloves, personal protective equipment and other covid materials go?
What happens to it and does that impact us? ‘Clean Up’ takes you on a journey of the hazardous waste we generate.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Vasudevan, Vaishnavi (author)

Core Title Clean up

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Degree Conferral Date 2022-05

Publication Date 03/05/2022

Defense Date 01/27/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Covid 19 waste,incinerator,Masks,medical waste,OAI-PMH Harvest,waste management

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Birman, Daniel (committee chair), Sender, Stuart (committee member), Tolan, Sandy (committee member)

Creator Email vasudevanvaishnavi78@gmail.com,vvasudev@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC110768084

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